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SPLOST
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax |
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2004 has seen the vision for Cobb's Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) continue to materialize. Seven of the nine new school sites funded by SPLOST II are well under construction and will open their doors in Fall 2005. 347 classrooms have additions completed or under way. New security and safety measures have been implemented and the district continues to look toward the purchase of land that will see new schools grow in the future. These developments are all made possible because of strong public support of SPLOST. In 1998, Cobb County voters first approved SPLOST, a one-cent tax on most retail goods, to provide revenue to build new schools and fund school improvements. The five-year program generated nearly $600 million that was used for more than 1,200 construction, renovation and technology projects, in addition to a $115 million property tax rollback. SPLOST I resulted in the addition of 12 new schools and a total of more than 1,000 new classrooms. Best of all, the entire SPLOST I program was managed more than $30 million under budget projections. Seventy-eight percent of Cobb voters approved a five-year extension of SPLOST in Sept. 2003, ensuring that the Cobb County School District can continue expanding, upgrading, and improving for the sake of its 102,000 plus students. Before SPLOST II expires at the end of 2008, a total of nine brand new schools will be open or finalizing construction and new technology will be at our students' fingertips to help push learning further into the 21st century. SPLOST is making a difference in the Cobb County School District. The remainder of this section provides financial data on how SPLOST I and II money is being spent and how Cobb is using those funds to make our schools an even better place to learn. Revenue received in 2004 enabled the Cobb County School District to: • Pay $23 million in Property Tax Rollback
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