I attended this informational meeting [recently]. Although no one actually came straight out and said that Fayette County voters should vote for the SPLOST on November’s ballot, even a casual observer could tell that the entire meeting and all comments from every person on the panel was a cheerleading FOR the SPLOST.

The moderator, Ms. Susanna Capelouto, by her comments was obviously slanted toward approving the SPLOST. The entire forum was a cheerleading event for the Fayette County Board of Education.

After the presentation by various speakers, questions from the audience were allowed only in writing. The written questions were filtered by Ms. Capelouto.

I submitted four hard questions related to how supplies were purchased and asked why the school system needed $5.7 million for 5,700 computers. That’s $1,000 per computer. Anybody could walk into Best Buy and buy a very good desk top computer for under $500. The moderator did not read my question.

I also submitted a question noting that many Fayette taxpayers have lost their jobs, taken pay and benefit cuts, have seen our house values stagnate or go down, and these same folks, many on fixed incomes, are being taxed at a higher rate and are being asked to increase our sale tax to raise $150 million more for our school system. All this at a time when enrollment is decreasing and a new $10 million school with over 600 seats will be on line next year. This question was not asked either.

I asked about pay and benefit cuts. That question was not asked. None of my questions were asked.

The only questions the moderator read to the panel were softball and gave a chance for the folks on the panel to infer that the sky would fall down if the SPLOST was not passed. It was obvious that the audience and questions allowed were slanted towards promoting the SPLOST.

I am aware that the Fayette school system has produced above average students year after year at a reasonable cost per student. I am aware that our teachers are very capable and professional.

It was pointed out that if you took the cost of living into consideration that our school teachers are the highest paid in the country. Not all the credit for our wonderful school system should go entirely to the school system.

For the same reason that Fayette County has been a safe place to live because of the quality of our citizens. Let me submit that if you took our school system to Clayton County, do you think the results would be the same as in Fayette?

Just as if you took our wonderful Sheriff’s Department and shifted it to Clayton County, do you think the crime rate would drastically drop? I think the answers are self-evident.

We have a safe county and produce superior students because of the involvement and quality of citizens and parents.

It was pointed out that our real estate taxes would be reduced if the SPLOST was passed, but no one could give a figure as to how much our Fayette sales tax takes in now.

I submit that Fayette County would actually lose sales tax because folks will stop coming here to buy large items such as furniture or TVs, etc., thus having a negative affect on our already strained stores, because consumers would be paying the same sales tax as adjacent counties. There would be no advantage to use the gas to drive here when they could purchase these items in their own county, since the lower sales tax advantage would no longer motivate folks to come here.

Another scare tactic that was subtly alluded to was the current senior homestead exemption perhaps being looked at.

The fact is that we have currently 1,300 empty school desks and next year another 600 desks will come on line. So we taxpayers are being taxed at a higher rate and are being asked to approve a SPLOST to raise another $115 million for a school system that will have 1,900 more desks than students.

As I and most taxpayers see it, we have had to tighten our belts and adjust our lifestyles because of the downturn in the economy. Why is it that governments’ only solution to shortfalls in revenue is to raise taxes on folks that are already hurting?

Vic Remeneski

Fayetteville, Ga.

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