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Politics & Government

Vote Tabled on Douglas Education Tax

The county Board of Education is now set to decide on the $122 million ESPLOST referendum at the Aug. 1 meeting.

Douglas County citizens will have to wait until Aug. 1 to see if the Board of Education passes a continuance of the county's current 1-cent sales tax that goes toward education projects.

Members were to vote on the tax this week but agreed 5-0 to postpone it. Board member Michael Miller of District 1 made the motion to postpone, saying he wanted more time to go over the list of projects funded by the tax, called ESPLOST or Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

Monday night was the first time board members had seen the summary of needed projects submitted by school officials, principals and PTA members that will be funded by the $122 million ESPLOST.

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Dudley Spruill, chief operating officer for facilities and operations, distributed the 39-page draft of needs for the school system at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting.

He also handed out a two-page draft of various district maintenance projects, such as landscaping and erosion control, signage, furniture, technology and security cameras.

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“I just got this tonight after asking for it for weeks,” Miller said. “I’d like to table (the ESPLOST vote) till Aug. 1.”

If approved by the board, the ESPLOST referendum will be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot. The referendum would continue the current 1-percent education tax program, which ends Dec. 31. The life of the new ESPLOST cannot exceed 20 calendar quarters and cannont generate more than $122 million.

Tier I projects would cost an estimated $53,995,300, and Tier II would cost $11,518,440—totaling $65,513,740. However, an estimated $4.5 million of that total could be eligible for reimbursements.

Along with the vote to postpone the decision on the ESPLOST, the school board also made several other unanimous votes during the meeting:

  • Approval of a personal communication device five-year waiver for students to use technology during classroom instruction and learning to bolster student achievement.
  • Renewal of the agreement for the 2011-12 school year with Comprehensive Therapy Consultants to pay $54 hourly for an occupational therapist or physical therapist and $52 hourly for a speech therapist. Federal IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funds will pay for the program.
  • Approval of a payment of $34,961.10 and evaluation services of $83,906.64 to Research Associates for technical assistance and evaluation services for the BRIDGES Grant. The BRIDGES Grant will cover the funding.
  • Continuing the service agreement with GO Solutions, which initiates and assists the DCSS with billing Medicare and Medicaid for special education-related services. The cost is 25 cents per IEP (Individual Education Program) student and 55 cents per submitted claim. Federal IDEA funds pay for the program.
  • Approval of a change order for replacement of existing mechanical curbs at Chapel Hill Middle by Ben Hill Roofing and Siding Company for $34,117.21. SPLOST is the project’s funding source.
  • Approval of an emergency repair and re-roofing of Banks Building at Douglas County High following storm damage on May 26 and June 22. All-Tex Roofing filed the low bid of $160,370 for total repairs. SPLOST is the project’s funding source.
  • Approval of a concrete refurbishing of visitor grandstands at the Douglas County High football field to Southern Architectural and Engineering Company for $113,127. SPLOST funds will cover the “labor-intensive” project.

The board was also apprised of other important items during the meeting. These were:

  • The results of a Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency salary study evaluation. Douglas County teacher salaries were ranked eighth out of 10 similar sized metro Atlanta school districts based on entry-level (T-4) and max pay level (T-5) averages. Douglas County’s average of $50,367 was ahead of Paulding’s $50,145 and Fayette’s $48,252. Cherokee had the highest at $56,429. Marietta City, Clayton, Cobb, Forsyth, Henry and Walton were ranked second to seventh.
  • Superintendent Gordon Pritz told the board that the school system had hired 75 new teachers this year and their orientation day is July 27.
  • Pritz also said the format for school board meetings will change starting in August. Generally, the first board meeting of the month will now be a work session and the second will be the voting meeting, which is a similar format to Cobb County School District. Pritz said this change would enable community members two weeks to learn more about items up for a board vote and increase district transparency.
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