Gwinnett voters weigh in on three Board seats
The Nov. 3 election also decided seats on the Gwinnett County Board of Education:
District I—Karen Watkins, a GCPS parent, will represent District I after winning the seat held by Carole Boyce, the Board’s 2020 vice chair who took office in 2005. District 1 includes all or part of the Archer, Brookwood, Central Gwinnett, Dacula, Discovery, Grayson, Mill Creek, Mountain View, and South Gwinnett clusters, in addition to Oakland Meadow School.
District III—Dr. Mary Kay Murphy, who has been the District III representative since 1997, retains her position on the Board after winning her contest against challenger Tanisha Banks. She represents all or part of the Collins Hill, Duluth, Lanier, Norcross, North Gwinnett, and Peachtree Ridge clusters, as well as GIVE Center West, New Life Academy of Excellence, North Metro Academy of Performing Arts, and the Buice Center, which includes the ADAPT, STRIVE, and BRIDGE programs
District V—In January, Dr. Tarece Johnson will become the Board representative for District V. Louise Radloff, 2020 Board chair, has represented District V since 1973. Dr. Johnson won her seat in the June 9 primary and did not have a Republican challenger. She will represent portions of the Berkmar, Discovery, Duluth, Meadowcreek, and Norcross clusters in addition to Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology and Maxwell High School of Technology.
The new term for these Board members begins in January and runs through December 2024. Terms for the two other Board seats— those of Steven B. Knudsen of District II and Everton Blair, Jr., of District IV—expire in December 2022.
In official and complete results, with 100% of 156 precincts counted, the E-SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education) passed by a wide margin of 76.62% to 23.38% in the countywide election on Nov. 3, 2020. The E-SPLOST passed in every precinct in the county. More than two-thirds (67.98%) of registered Gwinnett voters participated in the E-SPLOST ballot question.
The measure will continue the penny tax that has been in place since first approved by voters in 1997. Previously, voters approved renewals in 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2015. The current E-SPLOST sunsets on June 30, 2022. The newly approved extension will fund projects from 2022 to 2027.
The ballot question also called for approval of short-term general obligation (GO) bonds, which will provide the district with funding prior to the collection of the sales tax, allowing us to get a jump-start on needed technology and building projects. The bonds will be repaid with sales tax proceeds as that revenue is collected.
CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks expressed his appreciation to all involved, saying, “I would like to thank the citizen committee and its leaders—Kids Count Campaign Chair Sean Murphy and Campaign Treasurer Norwood Davis—who promoted and supported this ballot issue. Their work made a difference and we thank them for believing that an investment in our schools is an investment in the future and in the children of our community. We also appreciate the voters who voted by absentee ballot or made a trip to the polls. Their votes made a difference and have sent a clear message that Gwinnett kids count.”
Over the years, the E-SPLOST has provided thousands of needed classrooms as well as technology improvements that are essential to teaching and learning. The E-SPLOST is collected on all retail sales in Gwinnett County so that everyone who makes a purchase in the county, including visitors, contributes to the support of local schools. By law, an E-SPLOST can be used only for certain capital projects, like buildings, furnishings, buses, and computers. It cannot be used for salaries or for the day-to-day operational expenses of a school system.
So, what’s ‘The Plan’ for 2022-2027?
Planned projects include the following:
Construct a new middle school in the Archer Cluster;
Renovate and add classrooms to seven existing schools—Harbins ES, Shiloh MS, Trickum MS, Archer HS, Central Gwinnett HS, North Gwinnett High School, and Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology;
Refresh technology at all schools, including updated technology for instruction, support for digital learning, and modernized safety and security equipment;
Purchase digital instructional resources and other instructional materials and textbooks;
Perform ongoing maintenance on schools and athletic facilities such as roofing, carpet, HVAC, paint, and lighting; and
Purchase of school buses to replace older, less-efficient vehicles.
Over the years—thanks to the original E-SPLOST and the four earlier renewals—GCPS has been able to manage the challenges of dramatic growth in student enrollment, rather than being managed by it, and to address significant technology needs to support teaching and learning. Online, find details of the most recent E-SPLOST renewal in the SPLOST V Accountability Report, issued in January 2020.
Facts about the E-SPLOST
Under the newly approved E-SPLOST, the penny tax would be collected for a five-year period, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2027.
Anticipated revenue of $984.5 million is expected. (By law, Buford City Schools will get $27.5 million based on their student enrollment, leaving GCPS with $957 million.)
The E-SPLOST will fund a new school, seven additions and renovations at existing schools, systemwide technology upgrades, instructional resources, upgrades to athletic facilities, systemwide facility improvements, school buses.
Short-term general obligation bonds will provide GCPS with funding prior to the collection of the sales tax, allowing us to get a jump-start on E-SPLOST projects. The bonds will be repaid with sales tax proceeds as that revenue is collected.
This is the sixth E-SPLOST approval by Gwinnett voters—the first in 1997 and renewals in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2020.