Schools

SPLOST Would Fund School Improvements

The Special Purpose Local Option Sales for education will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that helps fund Fulton County Schools has been in place since 1997, but unless it's approved by voters again on Nov. 8, it could end next year, causing a giant funding gap for the school system.

The $913 million education SPLOST has been the source of funding for capital improvement needs within the county for over a decade. Under SPLOST - a one-cent sales tax - new schools are built, renovations on existing schools are completed, technology is advanced, buses are purchased, security is put in place and, finally, furniture and equipment are upgraded.

But, perhaps just as significantly, the sales tax revenue also goes to service bond debt, which was the primary method of funding capital needs prior to 1997, according to Fulton County Schools Board of Education Chairwoman Linda Schultz.

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"Everybody, including visitors to Atlanta, help fund our schools through the sales tax," she told Patch. "It is an alternative to using property tax to fund capital needs."

Though some have an issue with SPLOST funding in general, without this latest five-year SPLOST IV, local public school funding would only be possible through a bond referendum and increased property taxes, according to Shultz.

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"The sales tax is a pay-as-you-go method that does not incur interest," she said. "The sales tax is applied to the entire county, so Fulton County Schools benefits from visitors to the city of Atlanta."

In Fulton County, elementary and middle school overcrowding is an issue that the county hopes to resolve with new schools and/or additions funded by SPLOST. Another issue faced by most Fulton County Schools is a lag in technological advancements.

"Fulton is behind other school systems in our use of technology to improve learning," said Shultz. "Not only can we achieve cost efficiencies with upgrades, but we can individualize student learning."

It's an issue SPLOST is set to fund.

For a full list of Johns Creek area improvements needed by cluster – ,  and , see the attached PDFs.

"These needs will not go away," said Shultz.

If the SPLOST is not given an approval vote in Novemember, it will expire June 30, 2012.


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