Whitfield County residents will go to the polls on Nov. 8 to decide if an extension of the education special purpose local option sales tax — which could raise up to $105 million over five years — should be approved. The issue will be one of several on the ballot that day, but it is among the most important. It deserves broad community consideration, and it should attract people to the polls rather than discourage them.
At a joint meeting last week, boards for both school systems unanimously approved putting the question on the ballot. It was a sound decision. There’s much to be gained if voters agree to extend the tax.
Extension of the 1-cent ESPLOST tax would benefit both Whitfield County and Dalton city schools. The former would receive an estimated $68 million and the latter about $36 million over the life of the extension. Though neither board offered hints about how the money would be spent if approval was gained, such funds typically are used for infrastructure projects. Without the funds generated by the optional education levy, school systems and taxpayers would be hard-pressed to pay for such undertakings with current and projected revenues.
Everyone who shops in Whitfield County, including visitors, pays the sales tax. In a county traversed by a heavily traveled Interstate 75, the infusion of funds from outside the county is significant. That’s a fact that property owners — who most likely would have to pay more in taxes if the ESPLOST measure failed — should consider before casting their vote in November.
Obviously, the amount of funds produced over the life of the education special local option sales tax is substantial. Indeed, the direct and indirect impacts of either a yea or nay vote on the tax extension are considerable.