Friday, December 21, 2001
|
Friday, December 21, 2001 |
|
Voters to decide future of SPLOST More south side projects planned By JOHN
THOMPSON
Fulton voters will head to the polls March 19 to decide if the county's special puropose local option sales tax should be extended another five years. If voters approve the measure, more than $600 million could be flowing into the county for construction and addition projects. Last week, the Fulton County Board of Education approved calling for the vote. For the next three months, residents will hear how the money would benefit their communities. South Fulton residents could see construction projects headed their way. Current projections show the school system growing by nearly 12,000 students in the next five years. One of the interesting trends is the growth in South Fulton. "For the last few years, most of the new school construction has been in north Fulton, because that's where the growth has been. But our projections show new construction from this SPLOST would be evenly split," said Michael Vanairsdale, assistant superintendent for support services. School officials said a continuation of the penny sales tax would build 10 new schools, including two high schools and four middle schools. Additionally, the school system would do extensive renovation at all of its existing schools. Vanairsdale said the school system also is contemplating adding administrative facilities, but board members will ultimately decide what goes on the list. The current SPLOST expires next June, and Vanairsdale said the system has collected about $490 million for capital projects.
|
||