Educators, school board officials, and parents in support of ELOST want you to remember two things next Tuesday–don’t forget to vote, and don’t forget your picture ID.

"This is the first election we’ve had since the Georgia law requiring photo identification at the polls has gone into effect," said Morgan County School Superintendent Dr. Patricia Stokes. "Please remind people to take their photo IDs with them to the polls."

Morgan County residents will be voting on a one-percent Education Local Option Sales Tax, or ELOST. ELOST revenue is generated by a penny tax on sales, which means that much of the $21.3 million that educators hope to collect for projects will come from people who are not residents of the county. ELOST money may be spent on capital projects only; the money can be used to build or improve schools, or to buy buses or technology, but it cannot be spent on salaries or operating expenses or

supplies.

"Forty to 50 percent of this money comes from people who do not live in Morgan County," said Stokes. "This is not a tax that will reduce property taxes…it is a tax that will help prevent increases in property taxes."

If ELOST III, as it is known, is approved by the voters, the tax will be in effect for five years or until $21.3 million is collected, whichever comes first.

"We’ve never had an ELOST run for the full five years," said Stokes. "We’ve always estimated

conservatively."

ELOST II is currently in effect in Morgan County, and is slated to reach its monetary goal sometime between January and March of
2006, depending on collections. ELOST III would begin the day after ELOST II ends, providing tax continuity for shoppers and merchants.

Documents provided by the Board of Education indicate that the number-one priority on the list of possible uses for ELOST funds is a new school, commonly understood to be a K-5 elementary school in Rutledge.

Stokes says that current estimates of costs to the county for the new school will be $9.5 million, plus another $3 million that the county expects to receive from the state.

"That is the estimate right now," said Stokes. "We have not set a firm timeline [for constructing the school]…it depends on two things–how fast we collect the money and how fast we grow."

Historically, the school system has preferred not to borrow money for capital projects, adopting instead a "pay-as-we-go" program which previous ELOST referendums have made possible in recent years. But, as many realize and Stokes confirms, the schools are in growth mode again. If growth in the number of students in the school system outstrips the rate of collection of ELOST III, then the Board of Education will consider a bond issue. That would raise more immediate funds and allow construction to begin on a new school, and the board would then pay off the bond note out of ELOST III proceeds as they are collected.

Beyond the new school, proposed projects for the new ELOST programs include upgrades and improvements to all of the county’s existing schools, as well as the Board of Education’s Central Office, transportation, and technology.

Stokes stresses that while there is some fluidity to the slate of projects to be completed under ELOST III, all decisions regarding these projects are made at the open monthly meetings of the Morgan County Board of E
ducation.

ELOST makes possible the purchase of items needed by the school system but not provided by the State of Georgia, at a reduced rate to county taxpayers.

Take school buses, one example cited by Stokes. The county services 39 school bus routes, which means it maintains 39 buses on a daily basis. The typical life span of a bus is ten years. In order to maintain costs and keep kids safe, the county replaces its buses at a rate of three to four per year, which means that the entire fleet is turned over every ten years. School buses cost approximately $66,000 each, although that cost may be going up do to rising steel costs. The state provides enough funding for one bus per year. Sales-tax referendums such as ELOST save Morgan County citizens from having to fund those costs, and many more, on their own each year.