By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

A proposed $90 million special purpose local option sales tax is getting some powerful backing.

The 600-member Fayette County Board of Realtors has endorsed the county Board of Education's SPLOST and bond referendum, to be on the ballot Sept. 21.

School board members voted Thursday to put the SPLOST and accompanying $50 million bond sale on the ballot, asking voters for permission to raise funds for 289 new classrooms, upgraded technology and security devices in the county's schools, which are experiencing a growth rate of an average 700 students per year.

“There is not any group more aware of the number of new people in the county than Realtors,” said Carolyn McCullough, president of the Board of Realtors.

“Something has got to change, and we think the SPLOST option beats all the other alternatives,” she added.

McCullough said her group “intends to work for the passage” of SPLOST beyond issuing a resolution, by having members speak to local organizations. “I do believe this cause is worth our efforts,” she added. “Growth is not going to stop.”

This is not the first time Realtors have gotten involved politically. McCollough said that Realtors recently won their fight against the state legislature's proposed Amendment I, which called for taxes to be paid by people selling their homes for the Heritage Park fund.

“This amendment was not in the best interest of property owners,” she said.