By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

With just three weeks to muster support for a $90 million special local option sales tax and bond referendum, the steering committee called Fayette Citizens for Continued Excellence in Education is ready to tell county voters why they should vote yes Sept. 21.

According to co-chairmen Janet Smola and Don Apking, printed material outlining all the facts and figures involved in setting a one cent sales tax and selling $50 million in bonds is now available. Speakers are scheduled to address voters at various schools around the county, and the seeds have been sown to promote grass roots movements within school communities.

“We have been meeting every week,” Apking said.

He reported that initial feedback from the public has been “very positive.”

Smola said she feels voting for the SPLOST and bond referendum is the right thing to do based on the facts. “We've been given carte blanche by the board and have had access to every shred of information,” Smola said. “I've become so comfortable with this being the right thing.”

Recalling the defeat of the SPLOST two years ago, Smola urged the county's taxpayers and parents to be open-minded. “We're dealing with a new superintendent and a board with different members. ”We're enjoying a lot of responsiveness with this board,” Smola said. “Let's set yesterday aside,” she urged.

Passage of the tax and bond package 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 stadium and major renovations at McIntosh High School, 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 from the sales tax. The tax ends in five years, or when the school board collects $90 million, whichever occurs first.