The following essays were written by a supporter and an opponent of the March 21 Cobb Education V SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) referendum that would continue the one-penny sales tax for school facilities, supplies and technology improvements.
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Vote Yes: Funding For Education
(This essay is by Kathleen Corrao, legislative chair of the East Cobb County Council (ECCC) of PTAs.)
On March 21, 2017, Cobb County residents will be able to show their support for public education by voting in favor of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax V (Ed-SPLOST V).
Simply put, SPLOST is a one percent sales tax on all consumer goods. Cobb County’s current Ed-SPLOST IV expires in 2018. By law, Ed-SPLOST monies can only be used on capital projects for educational purposes or to make payments on bonds.
Passing Ed-SPLOST V remains critical in order to provide for capital investments in our schools. Briefly explained, 90% of State funding pays for salaries, while 10% of State funding goes toward the purchase of textbooks, supplies, and utilities. Therefore, capital improvement projects are left without support.
Remarkably, school enrollment in Cobb County has exploded from 60,000 students in 1998 to a population projection of over 114,000 students in the 2019-2020 school year. Without capital projects, concern exists over providing quality education to our expanding student population, especially when 32% of Cobb County’s schools are more than 40 years old.
Aside from funding educational capital projects, one of the biggest benefits of Ed-SPLOST is the fact that it collects revenue from everyone who spends money in the county; thus, dispersing the tax burden. Visitors and residents pay for SPLOST based on purchases, as opposed to incurring a property tax increase. It is estimated that 30% of Ed-SPLOST is paid by those who enter the county for work, play, or travel. Again, spreading the tax beyond homeowners and unto consumers.
Your vote for Ed-SPLOST V is important. Ed-SPLOST IV was decided with only a 10% turnout, the equivalent of 40,565 voters! Cobb County voters must meet the needs and growth of our student population. In addition, strong schools promote vibrant communities and higher property values. Voting yes for Ed-SPLOST V, will affirm Cobb County’s reputation for supporting education. Mark your calendars and support Ed-SPLOST V on March 21st!.
(Kathleen Corrao has lived in East Cobb nearly seven years. She resides in Hampton Woods Subdivision with her husband, Brian, and her children, Maria and Christopher. Kathleen currently serves on the East Cobb County Council of PTAs as their legislative chair.)
Vote No On The New Education SPLOST
(The following essay opposing the referendum was written by Lance Lamberton of the Cobb Taxpayers Association.)
On March 21, 2017 Cobb voters will be asked once again to approve another Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or Ed-SPLOST, which would re-impose a one percent sales tax on all consumer goods purchased in Cobb County starting on January 1, 2019 and ending five years later.
Originally the amount this Ed-SPLOST was supposed to raise was $818.6 million, a figure arrived at after consultants and school district staff spent months carefully considering the needs and future growth of the district. Yet a mere two weeks before the School Board voted on October 27, 2016 to put this E-SPLOST on the ballot, the Board, at the behest of School Board member David Banks, voted to throw in an additional $40 million, raising the ante to $859.5 million. ($797,022,000 will go to Cobb County schools and $62,486,000 will go to City of Marietta Schools.)
This additional $40 million has not been vetted, and was imposed out of the fear that the district may raise the $818 million before the five years are up for this new Ed-SPLOST. In defending this new increase, James Wilson, one of the education consultants that drew up the original list of projects, claimed that the additional money would “ … give us an opportunity down the road if we needed something and more money came in.”
That’s not a good reason. On the contrary, the first principle in establishing a budget, in both the public and private sector, is to first establish the spending needs and then propose a budget sufficient to pay for them. You don’t, or at least should not, figure out how much money you can raise and then just fill in the blanks.
The lack of specificity and failure to fully integrate the additional funds into the Ed-SPLOST already proposed by staff should concern all Cobb County taxpayers. The justification by the district’ >above-referenced consultant that the additional $40 million would be used “if we needed something and more money came in” is not an acceptable criteria for raising our taxes. We deserve better than that
And to spring this on the taxpayer with only 15 days advance notice reminds me of the way the Braves deal was imposed on taxpayers within a similar time frame. The voters, in no uncertain terms, rendered their judgment that this kind of action is unacceptable when they elected a new chairman of the Board of Commissioners by a nearly two to one margin.
What the voters were saying is that we demand more accountability and transparency when it comes to spending our hard earned tax dollars, and that we take strong exception when political elites and insiders paternalistically take the taxpayer for granted because they know what’s best for us.
Without specifying exactly how and why the Ed-SPLOST should be increased by $40 million, this almost guarantees that the money will be used a slush fund to enrich the politically well connected. Haven’t we seen enough of this in Cobb County?
Isn’t it time we demand the same degree of accountability for the district that we have now demanded from our County Government? If you agree, than vote NO on this Ed-SPLOST and insist that the School Board submit another Ed-SPLOS next year without the $40 million slush fund. Since this E-SPLOST will not go into effect until the beginning of 2019, there is still plenty of time to make that happen.
Voting NO does not mean doing away with the E-SPLOST altogether. A NO vote simply forces the Board to do what they should have done in the first place, which is to accept the recommendation of staff and consultants, without the $40 million add on.
(Lance Lamberton is the Chairman of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, (CTA) which was established in 2005 to serve as a watchdog to protect the interests of Cobb taxpayers. For more information on CTA, go to www.cobbtaxpayer.com.)
