Schools

Officials Talk ESPLOST

Fulton County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa and N. Fulton Chamber head Brandon Beach discuss SPLOST's merits.

Following a Johns Creek City Council candidates forum Tuesday night, several community leaders took to the stage at to participate in a discussion about continuing the 1 percent sales tax for Fulton Schools.

SPLOST IV, or ESPLOST, will be on the ballot in Fulton County on Election Day, Nov. 8. Voters will decide whether to continue the 1 percent sales tax earmarked for school improvements.

Fulton Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa, Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce President Brandon Beach and real estate broker and Johns Creek resident Heidi Overton spoke in favor of continuing SPLOST while taking questions from the audience.

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"From a school superintendent standpoint I'm very impressed with how SPLOST has been leveraged," said Avossa, who was named superintendent this year following a stint as chief strategy and accountability officer for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina.

"Milton High was built with SPLOST," added Beach. "This is a renewal. It won’t raise taxes. I don’t look at it as a tax – I look at it as a development. The money will go into a bucket and be spent on projects on this list."

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The Fulton School System has kept the millage rate down in past years due to SPLOST, and Overton said voters should renew the sales tax as that would likely remain the case again.

"Forsyth County recently completed the 141 corridor and it's difficult to keep people south. We want to keep the property tax down." She added that this area currently is home to "a lot of renters" and that SPLOST is "a way to pull in dollars from that segment."

Beach added that SPLOST is also a way to garner money from visitors to the area, with some 30 to 35 percent of the funds coming from out-of-towners. He added that a good school system is the most important factor of attracting new people and businesses to the area – "It's No. 1," he said.

"Our focus is about rebuilding, renewing, refreshing," said Avossa, adding that there is still a "huge deficit" in technology in the schools, which need to catch up and prepare kids for college and careers. 

The SPLOST discussion followed a . The event was sponsored by the Johns Creek High School PTSA.


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