The Gwinnett County school board unanimously approved a plan to ask voters for a penny sales tax extension to raise $876 million for new classrooms and technology improvements.
Gwinnett Schools Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said the funds are needed to keep up with the growth in the district. Enrollment, expected to swell to 162,400 students this fall, is projected to increase by 1,500 to 1,800 students annually over the next five years.
“We have delayed roof replacements, we have delayed car replacements [and] we have delayed painting simply to make the budget,” Wilbanks said. “There are some system-wide renovations that need to be done. We have to build new schools. The old schools need to be brought up to standards. We think this is something that will really help us continue.”
If voters approve the special purpose local option sales tax in November, $858.9 million of the funds would be used to build five new schools that house more than 500 classrooms. The remaining $17.1 million would be shared with Buford City Schools, which educates 1.9 percent of Gwinnett County students.
Buford City’s school board is expected to vote Friday on the SPLOST. Buford City and Gwinnett school boards, by law, must be in agreement to call for the SPLOST renewal, said Jorge Quintana, Gwinnett Schools spokesman.
Gwinnett Schools' first SPLOST was approved by voters in 1997. It was extended in 2002 and in 2007.
Among the projects on the wish list for Gwinnett Schools: new elementary schools for Meadowcreek and the Berkmar/Central Gwinnett clusters, a Peachtree Ridge neighborhood middle school and a bus maintenance facility.
New schools in the proposed SPLOST renewal could include air-conditioned kitchens and gymnasiums, and classes with more on-line offerings, including improved diagnostics to help teachers detect student weaknesses.
“We are trying to move away as much as possible from textbooks to digital content,” Wilbanks said. “We think it will help improve instruction and engage students.”
General obligation bonds approved in 2008 will allow the district to build two more schools, totaling seven with 584 classrooms by 2017, as well as additions to existing campuses.
“By voting yes in November it would allow the district to sell those bonds,” Quintana said. “It allows us to have cash up front to get the project started. The $275 million will be paid off by the SPLOST revenue.’’
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