Marietta City Schools has a $67-million wish list for the next E-SPLOST if voters want another renewal.
School board members met for a work session to discuss the fifth Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which is a one-cent sales tax that lasts a maximum of five years or until the established cap is reached.
That would give students things like $9 million of renovations for Marietta High School — including synthetic turf along with expanded bleachers and restrooms for the soccer and lacrosse stadium. When the high school opened in August 2001, it was the largest and most expensive high school in metro Atlanta with a pricetag of $55 million.
Other notable line items include $9.5 million for classroom technology with almost as much — $9 million — being spent on infrastructure and administrative technology for the central office.
The current E-SPLOST expires Dec. 31, 2018.
The schools want to remind you this is not a tax increase, nor an additional tax, nor a property tax. "It would be a continuation of the current sales tax," according to a schools presentation. And by law, E-SPLOST funds can only be used for capital outlay projects for educational purposes or to make payments on bonds. That means the monies can't be used for operating expenses like salaries.
Since 2000, E-SPLOST funds have added 191 classrooms and renovated more than 250,000 square feet of instructional space, according to the school's presentation. And during this current E-SPLOST, they claim that every school in the system has been improved.
A basic breakdown of the roughly $67 million figure is below:
- Construction, modifications and renovations: $38,579,600
- Technology (Classroom/Instructional learning): $9,500,000
- Technology (Infrastructure and Administration) $9,000,000
- Transportation: $5,080,000
- Safety and security $919,000
- Instructional materials/Equipment: $3,200,000
- Copiers: $460,000
- Planning, legal and administrative: $250,000
Look here for a more precise breakdown.
Next steps (if needed):
Sept. 20 - Vote on proposed projects
Oct. 11 - Board discussion of referendum
Oct. 18 - Approval of referendum
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