Press Release

Board Approves SPLOST III Resolution
Moves forward with capital needs proposal, Sept. 16 referendum

The Cobb County Board of Education unanimously approved a five-year, $798 million capital improvements plan for schools to be funded by an extension of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The current SPLOST expires on Dec. 31, 2008 and can be extended only with approval by Cobb County voters. The school board approved the plan as part of a resolution calling for a SPLOST III public referendum to be held Sept. 16, 2008. A SPLOST is a one-cent sales tax on all retail goods sold in Cobb County.

“The Board of Education is united in its belief that our public school facilities will always have capital needs, and that the best way to pay for those needs is through a sales tax supported by all consumers,” said Board Chair Betty Gray. “The SPLOST is a common-sense way to repair and improve our facilities without burdening the taxpayers with long-term debt. Through the efficient management of the current and prior SPLOST programs, our school board has proved the effectiveness of this funding mechanism to provide the best possible learning environment for the children of Cobb County.”

The proposal to improve infrastructure and classrooms throughout the District’s 126 facilities would be the third five-year SPLOST program for Cobb County schools. The first two SPLOST programs focused primarily on building new schools and adding classrooms to existing facilities to address overcrowding resulting from rapid growth over the prior two decades. The school board also used SPLOST funds to retire long-term debt leftover from bonds issued for school construction in 1995. In February 2007, the school district became entirely free of all long-term debt.

With growth projected to slow over the next few years, the SPLOST III proposal will focus primarily on revitalizing existing schools and repairing facilities with serious structural needs. More than one third (36 percent) of Cobb schools are more than 40 years old. The proposal also would improve safety at schools, provide technology upgrades in classrooms, and provide funds for the purchase of land.

A summary of proposed expenditures follows:

PROPOSED EXPENDITURES

Some highlights of the SPLOST III proposal include:

New and Replacement Facilities
• Constructing a total of 223 new classrooms with a net increase of 85 at the elementary school level and a increase of 40 classrooms at the high school level.
• Replacing three of the oldest elementary schools: Eastside, Mableton and an undetermined school in Smyrna. The proposal also will add a new ninth grade center in the West Cobb area, as well as ninth grade center additions at North Cobb and South Cobb high schools.

Addition / Modifications
• Adding to existing facilities a total of 179 classrooms with a net total increase of 143 (34 at the elementary school level, 42 at the middle school level, and 67 at the high school level).
• Providing an additional $14,588,963 for "Undesignated Classrooms" to include the construction of and/or purchasing of classroom space, including portable classrooms, and for the enhancement of existing portables.
• Constructing major additions/modifications/renovations at the following locations: North Cobb, South Cobb, Campbell, Sprayberry, and Pope high schools; Garrett, Hightower Trail, McCleskey, Pine Mountain, and Simpson middle schools; Bells Ferry, Sope Creek, Cheatham Hill, and Nickajack elementary schools.

Maintenance / Renovation
• Maintenance projects including parking lot repaving, additional parking spaces, drainage enhancements, fencing repairs, landscaping, playground equipment, tennis courts and track resurfacing, reflooring, painting, HVAC, plumbing, fire suppression for all locations and various electrical upgrades (fire alarm systems, emergency generators, sports lighting, etc).

Curriculum/Instruction/Technology
• Continuing to maintain the existing technology infrastructure, as well as upgrading servers, switches, data center, phone systems and adding capacity for centralized video distribution.
• Providing computing devices, printers, and copiers for classrooms and schools, sound systems in the fine arts programs, and graphing calculators for math classes.

Safety and Support
• Continuing to improve school safety by adding access controls, surveillance cameras, security fencing, signage, and traffic controls.
• Providing support functions, including buses, vehicles, equipment, school-level equipment for growth and replacement, renovations for Accessibility for Disabled, student information system, human resources / payroll system and textbooks for students.

More information about the Cobb County School District’s SPLOST programs, including the entire SPLOST III proposal, is available at http://www.cobbk12.org/splost.

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