SPLOST supporters
getting organized By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer
A grass roots
effort by Fayette County parents and citizens
pushing for passage of a $90 million special
local option sales tax and bond referendum Sept.
21 is taking shape.
A steering
committee called Fayette Citizens for Continued
Excellence in Education, the official name
submitted to the secretary of state, has
organized and will launch its pro-SPLOST campaign
in about two weeks with a barrage of brochures,
speakers, mail-outs and telephoning aimed at
informing voters about the proposed tax and the
key needs of the schools, which include more
classrooms, improved technology and security
devices.
Heading the group
are Janet Smola, a Tyrone resident, parent and
fund raiser for the Joseph Sams School, and Don
Apking, a Fayetteville parent and president of
the Fayette County High Booster Club. Treasurer
is Connie Leary, a Peachtree City parent whose
children attend Huddleston Elementary.
They will be guided
by Todd Barnes of A.G. Edwards financial group,
one of the bond advisers working with the Board
of Education on the SPLOST/bond initiative.
We need to go after the positive and
organize properly at the grass roots level,
Apking told those assembled Friday morning. The
overwhelming feeling of the group is that the
facts are so positive, that any negative aspects
of the referendum will be overshadowed.
According to
Barnes, the number of votes needed to pass the
SPLOST are not as much as you think. There
are currently 50,478 registered voters in the
county. Historically, there is a 15 percent to 20
percent turnout for a special referendum, based
on statewide observations. In Fayette
County, you can expect a slightly higher
turnout, Barnes predicted.
A 25 percent
turnout would bring in 12,620 voters. Barnes
estimated that for a 60 percent or better
yes vote, only 7,572 votes would be
needed. Within the network, you've got the
votes, Barnes said, referring to the number
of school district employees, which totals 3,500,
plus their spouses. Six hundred Realtors also
have pledged to support the tax.
Fayette school
superintendent Dr. John DeCotis reviewed the
highlights of the sales tax effort, carefully
giving only facts, because state law prohibits
school employees or members of the board from
actively campaigning for passage of the
referendum.
Passage of the tax
would provide 300 classrooms or space for 5,000
additional students, property for two elementary
schools, one middle school and one high school,
playground improvements, electrical and
technology upgrades at existing schools, a new
auditorium for Sandy Creek High School, stadium
improvements at Fayette County High School,
concession stand, lockers and bleachers, plus
rest rooms at Starr's Mill and major renovations
at McIntosh, including a new physical education
building and upgrades to the existing stadium.
The SPLOST calls
for a one-cent sales tax to be levied starting
Jan. 1, and the sale of $50 million in bonds to
provide the funds to begin the proposed projects
simultaneously. The bonds will be repaid through
the money generated through the sales tax. The
tax ends in five years or when the school board
collects $90 million, whichever occurs first.
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