Houston County has big plans for new E-SPLOST

Houston County has repeatedly been named one of the best counties in Georgia for education, and the Houston County Board of Education has been the pinnacle of aiding the success of the students in the school system. Other than the work of the teachers and administrative staff who invest so much into their students, much of the physical success can be attributed to the county’s adoption of the E-SPLOST, or the Education Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax, and the many benefits it has granted the county over the years. 

For those unfamiliar with the E-SPLOST, it is essentially the driving force for all of the school system’s capital projects. It’s a 1% sales tax that is garnered from every person who makes a purchase in Houston County, whether they are a resident or a visitor. The funds can only be used for capital improvement projects, such as construction of new buildings and upgrading existing ones, and cannot be used to pay for salaries or other operating expenses for the school district.

Dr. Mark Scott, Superintendent of Schools for the Houston County Board of Education, described how this approach is the most financially fair and reasonable way to collect for school system improvements.

“Our county is the center for a lot of retail activity for a lot of smaller counties that are around us. When someone from a neighboring county comes to Walmart and spends money, that penny goes to our E-SPLOST project, so it’s really a fair tax that gets contributions from neighboring counties who come here for work or shop and spend money and do stuff in our community,” said Scott. 

Some may be adverse to the idea of a tax; however, Scott clarified that the approval of the 2022-2027 E-SPLOST would not change anything that is already in place since it would just be an approved continuation of the consumption tax. 

“The funds that we collect from the E-SPLOST are equivalent to six meals of tax, and so it’s hard to think that if we had to use ad valorem tax, which is property taxes on homes and businesses, it would take us six meals of tax to accomplish the same things we do with one penny of sales tax,” Scott reasoned. “Of course, that burden would fall on just the people who own property in Houston County whereas, with the E-SPLOST, anybody who spends money in Houston County contributes to that.”

Houston County has approved the E-SPLOST since 1997. The sales tax cycle must be renewed every five years or until the cap is reached, and the current 2017-2022 E-SPLOST is coming to an end on March 31, 2022. Voters are encouraged to vote and approve the upcoming 2022-2027 E-SPLOST that has a cap of $190 million.

The current cycle of the E-SPLOST has a cap of $135 million. According to Scott, all 39 education campuses in Houston County school district have been positively impacted and improved in some capacity by the use of the E-SPLOST funds. “During the 2017-2022 E-SPLOST, safety has been enhanced, facility needs addressed, and improvements made in technology and transportation.”

To partially list the utilization of the current E-SPLOST, schools have experienced upgraded security systems, the purchase of 69 school buses, enhanced technology to make up for the learning curve of the modern world resources—including increasing the number of chrome books and computer stations and upgrading network cabling—and the construction of new gymnasiums and the new Bonaire Primary School.

With Houston County growing in numbers every single day, city officials have come up with plans to combat the ever-growing community. Dr. Scott expressed his excitement for the 2022-2027 E-SPLOST and what the $190 million cap will mean for the county in response to the growth. Like the current E-SPLOST, the board of education would like to focus on safety and security, facilities, technology, and transportation for the students. 

One of the main priorities will be the construction of two primary schools near the Langston Road Elementary and Matthew Arthur Elementary Schools and also the construction of a middle school to provide relief for Bonaire Middle and Perry Middle Schools. “Currently, we’re adding about 120,000 square feet to Veterans High School with the current E-SPLOST. So we’re adding 64 classrooms, and then also a multi-purpose gymnasium there at Veterans High School to accommodate their growth. As far as high schools, the Veterans project would take care of the growth in that area and of course, the middle school and the two primary schools would take care of our growth in that area over the next five to seven years.”

On top of that, Scott revealed that there are also plans to build a performing arts center near Freedom Field. “That’s something that I think would be a great addition to the community, but it would also provide the large number of students that participate in performing arts including chorus, band, drama—those type of activities, it’d allow them to have a place to perform and also a place for us to host events. We currently host many of the state one-act competitions and region competitions here in Houston County because we do have theater facilities at our schools. But this would give us an opportunity to expound on that, to actually host other musical events whether it’s choral, band, or drama.”

Scott also detailed how many of the facilities are older, with the average age of the buildings being 38 years old. “A lot of our buildings were built in the 50s,” he informed. “We have an aging [system] and it requires some maintenance and upgrades for those buildings.” The new E-SPLOST plans include replacing sidewalk canopies, renovations within the schools—such as lighting, flooring, paint and roofing—HVAC upgrades, adding more school buses, and improvements to the internet infrastructure for easier access to technology.

Citizens who wish to vote on the E-SPLOST must be registered to vote by February 16 to qualify for the early voting between February 22 and March 12. The last day to vote will be March 16. For voting information and locations on where votes can be cast, call the Houston County Board of Elections at 478-987-1973.

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