The mood was somber at the Fayette County Board of Education Wednesday morning, following a night of disappointing election returns on the $90 million sales tax/bond package.

Voters rejected the one-cent special purpose local option sales tax designed to raise money for construction of four new schools, additions at six existing schools, upgraded technology and security devices by 51.8 percent. The “yes” votes totalled 5,580, 48.12 percent, and the “no” votes totalled 6,015, 51.8 percent.

Fayette is the only county in the 20-county metro area not to have a SPLOST, and the only one in 10 in which voters turned down the penny tax for the purpose of funding school construction and improvements.

Board members and the school district's administration were visibly disappointed Wednesday morning when they convened to accept the election results.

“The voters have made it clear; they don't want to put extra money into education in Fayette County,” said school board chairman Debbie Condon. “We have the best school system in the state of Georgia. We live in an affluent community and people didn't bother to go and vote,” Condon added.

Voter turnout was 21.7 percent, slightly lower than anticipated for the special referendum. Out of 53,541 eligible voters, 11,595 turned out Tuesday.

“I feel that we took the appropriate steps to meet the growth and build additional schools,” DeCotis said. “We'll reassess the 10-year plan and the five-year plan and look at making adjustments,” DeCotis said in light of the SPLOST defeat. “We will not have the resources we thought we'd have. We'll have to do more, because of growth, and do it with less. It's going to be difficult to provide the services people are accustomed to receiving. We'll ask for another tax to address these needs,” DeCotis told the board.

“Statewide, every other county passed it. I hope the citizens who have supported this [SPLOST] will continue to support us,” he added.

Board member Connie Hale reaffirmed her support of DeCotis and said, ”I don't think the school system will go downhill tomorrow because of this; the board will work with you to see that it doesn't.”

According to state law, the school board cannot hold another special referendum for a year and one day. Its funding options are limited to a bond issue, special local option sales tax or borrowing the money, which DeCotis said is not feasible. While other school districts in the country can benefit from impact fees collected from developers, Georgia districts cannot, by law, levy such fees.

In addition to losing the $90 million in anticipated revenue from SPLOST, the school district also will lose $3 million in state growth funds because of its inability to raise its $5 million share, according to DeCotis. The money was to be used for building a new elementary school and middle school.

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