SPLOST Renewal Passes in MoCo

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Montgomery County citizens recently took to the polls to determine whether or not to renew the 1-cent Education Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) during the recent Special Election held on Tuesday, March 18. The renewal passed by an overwhelming majority, with 471 citizens approving the renewal and 90 citizens objecting to the tax.

According to Montgomery County Election Super- continued from page

intendent Sheila Cheek, the turnout for the recent SPLOST election is average for these types of special elections, as the 2020 SPLOST Special Election had 523 citizens cast their ballots. The number of each type of ballot cast varied greatly; the results were: • 265 Ballots Cast on Election Day – 231 for Yes; 34 for No • 289 Ballots Cast dur ing Advance Voting – 233 for Yes; 56 for No • 6 Absentee Ballots Cast By Mail – 6 for Yes; 0 for No • 1 Provisional Ballot Cast – 1 for Yes; 0 for No The one-cent sales tax renewal stirred controversy throughout the county prior to the election, as many opposed the tax because of various reasons, such as the lack of designation of what the funding would be used on or the recent actions of the Board of Education to opt-out of the statewide homestead exemption. Discussion was shared throughout the County on the topic, but ultimately, the tax was renewed.

The tax has been in place in Montgomery County since 2002, and allows a one-cent tax to be collected on goods and services sold within the community so that everyone may contribute to funding education, alleviating some of the tax burden from property owners within the county. This one-cent tax is collected on any items or services bought or even delivered to locations within Montgomery County.

The funding from the tax may be used only for capital projects, such as buildings, buses, technology, and furnishings for the campuses, or for school safety and security measures. Montgomery County Schools has received funding through SPLOST since 2002 and has capitalized on this money to help provide several needed items and upgrades to the school, including: • e construction of the new Montgomery County Middle/High School, which has no lingering debt • e update of athlet ic facility lighting • e purchase of new buses with air conditioning and security cameras • e repair of several facility roofs

• e renovations of Brogdon Field • e purchase of a new softball field scoreboard • e purchase of classroom cameras • e purchase of band equipment • e replacement and repair of numerous outdated HVAC units • e purchase of new chromebooks • e update of exte –

rior lighting on campus • e upgrade of com –

puter network servers • e improvement of sidewalks on campus • e purchase of new playground equipment • e purchase of a band trailer • e update of class –

room technology • e upgrade of the Montgomery County Elementary School sign Since adding the tax onto online purchases that are shipped to the County, the Montgomery County School System receives an average of $1 million per year in funding from this source.

With this approval of the renewal of the tax, SPLOST is now reinstated for the next 5 years, or until $6.5 million is collected.