EDITORIAL: Time to decide on E-SPLOST
Tuesday marks the last chance Macon-Bibb County voters have to approve or not the Bibb County School district's wish to extend the education special local option sales tax for another five years. It's a penny tax that has provided the necessary funds to transform our district's facilities.
Since 2000, the three E-SPLOSTs have funded new buildings for Central and Southwest high schools, new Howard and Rutland high and middle schools plus the refurbishment or rebuilding of most every elementary and middle school in the district. With all that's been accomplished over the past 15 years with almost $500 million invested, what else needs to be done?
To begin answering that question, one would need to look at the state of the district's facilities in the late 1990s. Westside High School, at the time, was the first new high school built in the district in three decades (Yes, Southeast, for a time was opened and closed, but that was a refurbished facility). While there were patches placed, school grounds were littered with classroom trailers and buildings without air conditioning. Rutland and Howard complexes did not exist. Alexander II was in disrepair as were many other elementary and middle schools. Through all of this, the system was adjusting to the area's changing population patterns, most evident in south Bibb.
What's left to do? What will the estimated $150 million to $180 million pay for?
• New facilities for Northeast High and Appling Middle: $45 million
This will put the two schools on the same campus similar to Howard and Rutland high and middle schools.
• Technology improvements: $22,183,320
• Classroom tools for every classroom, including audio enhancement and cameras
• Upgrade district wireless access
Technology continues to advance and Bibb has to keep up its infrastructure.
• Playground equipment for 20 elementary schools: $1.7 million
• Security improvements: $4,011,050
• Districtwide key card access to each school
• Gym air conditioning at 13 elementary and five middle schools: $1.26 million
• Replace old, broken, nonfunctional classroom furniture at every school: $3 million.
• High school auditoriums at Rutland high and Westside high: $18 million
• Lighting improvements at existing auditoriums
These schools, because of lack of funds, built cafeterias that also function as auditoriums. The combination does not work well.
• School renovations, Hartley, Lane, Skyview, Taylor elementaries and Weaver Middle School: $23,020,081
• Transportation/campus police facility: $5 million
• Athletic improvements, Thompson track, middle and high school practice fields: $1 million
Many of the schools fields are almost unusable for days after rainy periods.
• Surplus property blight (Hall, Butler, Neal): $500,000
• Land/property acquisition: $500,000
• Charter school projects
Why vote for this E-SPLOST? Aside from the fact that as goes education, so goes Bibb County, 70 percent of the extra pennies are paid for by people shopping and visiting from out of county. You can't find a better deal than that. A citizens oversight committee will be appointed to ensure the E-SPLOST funds are spent appropriately (state law also provides assurances) and the various administrations have evidence all across the county that the money has been spent well. For a full list of where the E-SPLOST money has been spent, go to: http://bcsdk12.net/Page/42076.
Whatever your decision about whether to support the E-SPLOST, vote.
This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 7:44 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: Time to decide on E-SPLOST ."