Cobb County's school board should ask voters to extend its penny sales tax for another five years to replace several schools, add on to several others, and build two new career centers, according to a consultant.
James Wilson of Education Planners made the recommendation on the special purpose local option sales tax to the board last week.
The option was provided in 1996 to school districts as a way to fund capital projects. The Cobb and Marietta City school districts expect to collect around $797 million through the SPLOST referendum passed in 2008.
With those funds, Cobb has replaced three elementary schools, built three ninth-grade centers and upgraded several facilities, along with other projects.
That SPLOST is due to expire next year, but if renewed the district would collect close to $718 million by 2019 for capital projects. Under the proposal the district would replace seven elementary schools and one high school, and replace theaters at five high schools and gymnasiums at six high schools.
Lance Lamberton, president of Cobb County Taxpayers Association doesn't like the idea of renewing the tax. "It seems like the school district has an insatiable appetite for taxpayer money," he said. "If you're running your own personal household, there are a lots of things you'd like to do, but you just can't go to your boss and say, 'I need to renovate my home, how about giving me a raise.' In a sense, that's what they're doing."
Wilson spent the summer examining the district's projected revenue, population trends and surveying administrators, teachers and community members about their needs. Cobb paid Wilson's firm $75,000 to create the plan.
The consultant determined that the district will grow just slightly, from 106,147 students to 106,472 students, by the 2014-15 school year. Most of that growth will occur in the southern portion of the county.
But, he said, growth is "no longer one of the top priorities for school districts. Now, it's not about trailers. It's more about the true needs of a district."
The schools and facilities recommended to be replaced are all more than 50 years old and can't accommodate today's class sizes, Wilson said.
"You have to keep school buildings instructionally sound for young people," he said.
Each elementary school replacement would cost about $19 million. Replacing Osborne High School would cost the district about $28 million.
The proposal also calls for building two career academies at a cost of about $33 million each. The academies would provide students with technical courses to help them better prepare for careers.
Wilson will make a more detailed final presentation to the board next month. The board must decide by the end of this year whether they want to ask voters to extend the tax for another five years.
Marietta City Schools, which receives a portion of any SPLOST funds collected, is in the process of making its list to be included in the proposal.
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