Now That the Cobb School SPLOST Has Passed

"I've got a few questions ... that haven't been raised yet about the legality of some of the projects on this list," Local Voices blogger David Staples writes.

Staples: Reject Cobb ESPLOST

The proposed project list put forth by the Cobb County School District appears to be moving away from education and more toward sports and recreation.

School SPLOST Vote Set for March 2013

The Cobb Board of Education approved a resolution Wednesday, but heard a strong dose of anti-tax sentiment.

As expected, the Cobb Board of Education on Wednesday adopted a resolution to call for a March 2013 referendum to extend the Education SPLOST. But the job of selling voters on a $717 million school construction and maintenance project list figures to be a challenging one, given Cobb's recent SPLOST track record.  The one-cent sales tax, if approved by voters, would begin in January 2014 and would be collected through December 2018. But before the vote, representatives of a local taxpayers group and the Georgia Tea Party spoke out against a March referendum. And the chairwoman of the school board's SPLOST citizen oversight panel predicted that the finalized SPLOST IV "notebook" (see attached PDF) will fail at the polls. The board voted only…

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SPLOST Vote Before Cobb School Board

Wednesday's work session agenda includes a resolution for a March 2013 referendum.

After an accelerated process to put together and revise a $717 million project list of school construction and maintenance projects, the Cobb Board of Education is expected to vote Wednesday to call for a referendum to pay for them. A resolution calling for a March 19, 2013 referendum that would extend the current Cobb Education SPLOST highlights the board's Wednesday work session agenda (see attached PDF). The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District central office, 514 Glover Street, Marietta. After two board members expressed a desire to postpone a referendum to November 2013, Wednesday's agenda item includes a recommendation from Superintendent Michael Hinojosa for a March vote. The current …

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Reminder: Special School Board Meeting Today

The revised SPLOST project list, which includes an $8.1 million theater addition at North Cobb High School, will be discussed at 10 a.m.

Cobb School Board to Meet Again on SPLOST

The revised project list will be discussed at a special called meeting on Monday.

The Cobb Board of Education has called a special meeting for next week to discuss the proposed SPLOST IV construction and maintenance project list. The meeting is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday in the board room of the Cobb County School District central office, 514 Glover Street, Marietta. The board met last week to go over a revised "notebook" (see attached PDF) totalling $717 million in proposed projects that Cobb voters may be voting on early next year. At the end of that meeting, board member Alison Bartlett asked for another public meeting to continue finalizing the project list. The board is expected to vote later this month on whether to call for a referendum, which is likely for March 2013. Among the major revisions is …

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Revised SPLOST IV Projects Unveiled

North Cobb board member Lynnda Eagle, who is leaving office at the end of the year, was dismayed that some elementary schools will continue to have trailers through the SPLOST IV collection period.

The feedback Cobb Board of Education members have been receiving about the proposed SPLOST IV project list has produced some major revisions in the package, and for several schools throughout the county. Board members on Thursday discussed the revised list, which still comes in at an estimated $717 million in collections. Among the major changes are $3.1 million in renovations at Tapp Middle School in Powder Springs, a $3.3 million addition at Kincaid Elementary School in Northeast Cobb and new classroom space at Teasley Elementary School in Smyrna costing another $3.1 million. In East Cobb, two significant changes have been proposed: A $30 million middle school replacement, likely at East Cobb Middle School, and a total of $27 million in …

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School SPLOST IV List Totals $717M

The final consultant's report to the Cobb Board of Education is the basis for a possible referendum in early 2013.

The thick, heaving binders handed out to Cobb Board of Education members Wednesday detailing $717 million in school construction and improvement needs are also packed with wish lists more than double that dollar amount. A final presentation made to board members at a work session hammered down $2 billion in requests to match the anticipated revenue that would come from an extension of the current one-cent local option sales tax for the Cobb County School District that ends at the end of 2013. Whether that referendum is called is up to the school board, which is slated to hold public hearings this fall.  In the meantime, the 209-page "SPLOST IV notebook" (see the accompanying PDF) will be sent back out to Cobb school communities for …

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