To have a world-class work force, we need to provide a world-class educational experience for students in world-class facilities. As a result, I plan to vote “yes” in the vote to renew the education SPLOST Tuesday and strongly encourage fellow citizens to do the same. Since 1997, SPLOST has provided several billion dollars to metro Atlanta public school districts. This money has been used for bond debt retirement, building and renovating educational facilities, technology procurement and upgrades and school buses.
When you consider the population shifts that have occurred in metro Atlanta, along with the age of the educational infrastructure, it’s reasonable to expect regular investments will be needed to keep our facilities and equipment up to par.
While the relative share of federal and state funding has declined during the past few years, property taxes remain the primary revenue source for public school districts. Understandably, the primary burden on funding school operations falls on property owners. It is estimated that 40 percent or more of the SPLOST revenue is generated by citizens who don’t live in the collection area. This relieves some of that burden on property owners.
When you consider that 85 to 90 percent of the operating budget is used for salaries and benefits, only 10 to 15 percent remain for operating expenditures, including instructional needs.
SPLOST allows a greater percentage of the operating budget to be used for addressing unfunded state mandates, such as textbooks (the state does not pay the full costs of textbooks), along with instructional equipment and supplies used by teachers. Georgia law mandates that schools be well maintained, yet doesn’t provide adequate funding to school districts to meet this standard.
Without SPLOST, there would be more students in trailers, more schools with leaky roofs and inoperable HVAC systems, along with fewer instructional supplies. If we did not have SPLOST, school districts would need to scramble to fund what we would consider basic school operations. Paying for needs such as this would come out of the general operating budget at the expense of instructional needs.
Major projects would need to be deferred or funded through passage of bonds. Citizens should expect that SPLOST monies are spent in accordance to the capital improvements plan presented to the community. As I understand, annual audits are required with the SPLOST.
A county may not borrow from the SPLOST revenues to fund expenditures other than voter-approved capital projects. Any changes should be clearly justified, documented and voted on during a public board meeting.
Citizens share the responsibility with the school district to ensure the money is spent as promised.
How we as citizens provide for our schools will influence those outside of where we live to consider relocating to our respective counties and communities. The entire community benefits from clean and healthy learning environments that are adequately equipped.
The perception of the state of our school systems provides a key component in helping municipalities both attract and retain businesses that help contribute to the overall quality of life.
Without question it takes more than new buildings or technology in the classrooms to ensure effective learning is taking place.
Having these makes it easier for school systems to focus on their primary mission of educating children.
Ernest Brown is a businessman and DeKalb County parent.
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