Henry voters approve E-SPLOST referendum

Henry County residents voted Tuesday to extend a one-cent sales tax through 2022.

The money raised will help the school district improve its technology, build a new high school, middle school, performing arts center and make other much-needed enhancements.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the referendum that calls for issuing bonds and raising money through an education Special Local Option Sales tax or E-SPLOST. Passage of Tuesday's referendum means the school district can now begin issuing some of its $325 million in bonds.

As much as $225 million of that will be raised through the E-SPLOST. That, in turn, would allow the district to begin tackling some of the items on its wishlist sooner.

“We’ve combined the two [bonds and tax] following the pattern of other metro Atlanta school districts that were successful in combining the two measures on their ballots,” said Henry school district spokesman John “J.D.” Hardin.

The E-SPLOST would be used to upgrade the school district’s technology to allow for computer devices for each student as part of the school system’s “one-on-one” initiative. In addition to construction of the new schools, it would also add synthetic athletic field turfs and a performing arts center in the northern end of the county, Hardin said.

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