Following a lengthy discussion at the Union County Board of Education regular meeting on Thursday, July 23, the board amended its agenda to include a vote to call an election to continue the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
Now in its 30th year of continuous collections, the current ESPLOST VI expires next June. Revenues from the 1% local option sales tax go toward capital projects and improvements at the schools, such as the brand-new elementary school that was completed last year.
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Renewal would mean the sales tax simply stays in place in 2027 to fund future projects, and board members broached the topic of renewal in their May meeting, but the discussion did not include when an election might be called.
After revisiting the issue in last week’s meeting and reviewing needed improvements with school staff, the board decided to act that night.
The Central Office keeps a prioritized list of both recurring expenses and longer-term projects that the board knows about but considered anew as part of a “back to school” update in the July 23 meeting.
Middle School Principal Casey Jones presented a particularly pressing situation of overcrowding on his campus, noting that “space is definitely an issue,” with one possible solution being expansion that comes with an obvious price tag.
For example, lunch starts around 10:30 a.m. because not enough of the student body can safely fit into the cafeteria, so students must be staggered through in groups until about 1 p.m.; additionally, the kitchen is too small to handle serving too many students at once.
Board Chair Tony Hunter was especially worried about this problem, expressing concern that some students have nothing to eat at all after school.
“To have a child go home hungry and not have food at home … I don’t want to send any child home hungry,” Hunter said. “That hurts my heart.”
Conversation also hit on the problem of classroom sizes; Chief Compliance Officer Dr. David Murphy revealed that the average middle school classroom has about 25 to 30 kids, which Board Member Patrick White compared to a “college class.”
This led to concerns that not all students are receiving the help they need to thrive, especially since middle school enrollment was about 400 when the building first opened years ago, compared with today’s enrollment of 652 students – a 63% increase over time.
In addition to middle school renovation and expansion, the Central Office has identified at least $23 million in expected ESPLOST-eligible projects that must be completed over the next five years, such as student curriculum and technology purchases, bus replacements, cafeteria equipment upgrades, and aging facilities campuswide, including upcoming roof replacements and a roughly $4 million project to replace the HVAC system at the middle school.
Upon review, board members expressed an urgency to call a new ESPLOST vote, deciding they would like to secure funding for these projects through continuing the sales tax if possible rather than having to substantially increase property taxes, as the system is committed to not borrowing money.
The board asked Central Office staff what it would take to get a referendum on the ballot in November. The answer was action to pass a resolution that night, as the clock was ticking on an important deadline – 90 days before the General Election – to schedule the referendum.
That’s why board members unanimously adopted a resolution calling for an ESPLOST referendum to appear on ballots in the Nov. 3 General Election.
The Central Office used the ESPLOST VI resolution as a template for the new one, updating the collection projection and project priorities. The day after the meeting, the official election call was sent to the North Georgia News legal organ for publication in the July 29 newspaper.
As pointed out in the meeting, calling the election in November versus waiting until next May is also likely to bring greater participation by the local electorate, as the number of voters expected to cast ballots this year is higher given that this is a larger state election.
Noted in the official election call, ESPLOST VII, if passed, will feature a $49 million cap, to be collected over no more than five years.
Listed project categories include “renovating, repairing, improving, and equipping existing school buildings and facilities” with the middle school earning top billing.
Other ESPLOST categories include modern technological upgrades to the Fine Arts Center, Career Technical Agriculture Education equipment, a generator and other upgrades for the Agriscience Center, HVAC and roofing upgrades, lighting for athletic facilities and more.
To read the full election call, check out the legal advertisements in this week’s newspaper.
