John Loud, chairman of the pro-SPLOST IV group United 4 Kids, reacts Tuesday night at Willie Rae’s in Marietta as the votes begin favoring passage of the school tax. Looking on are Sharon Mason, left, Cobb Chamber of Commerce COO, and Terri Guthrie, executive vice president of First Landmark Bank.
Staff/Kelly J. Huff
Staff/Kelly J. Huff
Andrew Gan, left, and Danielle Welsh, both of Marietta, check in with poll workers Tuesday before voting at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in east Cobb.
Staff/Kelly J. Huff
Staff/Kelly J. Huff
Voters approved $773.3 million for Cobb and Marietta school districts to be raised through a 1-cent special sales tax between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2018.
“My cheeks are a little sore from smiling so much,” said John Loud, the co-chair of the pro-SPLOST group United 4 Kids, shortly after the tax got a large push from the “yes” votes.
There were a total of 40,565 votes cast in the single-issue election, and of those votes 23,248, or 57 percent, were in favor of the tax, while 17,317, or 43 percent, opposed it.
By approving the county’s fourth education SPLOST, Cobb will collect approximately $717.8 million, and Marietta $55.4 million.
“The voters came out today to show their support,” Loud said. “Maybe the project list isn’t 100 percent the best for everybody, but as you look at the picture as a whole, it’s the right direction for the kids, community, economy.”
Loud, along with about 75 other voters in support of the initiative, spent their election night at a party at Willie Rae’s on the Marietta Square watching the results roll in on their computers.
Another person who spent a portion of their evening waiting on the results to come in at a restaurant on the Square was Marietta City School Board Chair Randy Weiner.
“I’m very grateful to the voters of Marietta City that they saw the value and the need in this SPLOST,” he said. “I’m just very happy tonight!”
Scott Sweeney, the Cobb Schools board member who represents east Cobb, said “the kids won tonight” in response to the passage of the special tax.
“Again, the Cobb County voters got this right and decided to continue their support of the SPLOST initiative,” he said.
Sweeney thanked several groups and individuals for their support of the tax, including Cobb’s Parent Teacher Associations, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and others who formed their own pro-SPLOST campaigns.
“Their efforts are appreciated,” he said.
Vonda Shoemaker chairs the Walton High School Facilities Foundation, which is one of those organizations that pushed for passage of the initiative.
“I am thrilled for so many groups in Cobb County who will benefit from improved schools as a result of SPLOST IV, including our students, faculty members, parents and community partners,” she said.
Shoemaker said she also ws happy for the property owners, whom she believes will benefit from “high property values that tend to correlate with schools of excellence.”
Passage of SPLOST IV means Walton will eventually be rebuilt for a ticket price of about $40 million.
“Our youngest child is currently a junior and won’t be around to enjoy the improvements in Walton’s future, but it is a joy to have supported the referendum and know that the strong legacy of Walton and many other schools will continue because of today’s vote,” she said.
Not everyone was happy with the election’s outcome.
Lance Lamberton, a member of the Cobb Taxpayers Association who has been adamantly against passage of SPLOST IV since the board first discussed creation of the project list, said he “fully expected” the yes votes to win.
“We just didn’t know by how much we were going to lose,” he said.
He was pleased with the number of votes they picked up compared to the 2008 SPLOST III election, when around 5,000 fewer voters visited the polls.
“We think the grassroots effort … made a difference,” Lamberton said. “It was really like David and Goliath, especially if you compare resources.”
With his group had, Lamberton is hoping to build upon that foundation for the next time.
“I think our focus now is going to be changing the rules of how and when these elections are held,” he said. “We also want to look at the fractional SPLOST idea, no public moneys used to propagandize and election dates.”
He said that if those changes can be made, the actual components of future SPLOSTs will change.
By approving SPLOST IV, voters approved the Cobb County School District project list valued at $717.8 million. The list includes the rebuilding of Walton High School, two replacement elementary schools for $23.3 million each, a $29.8 million career academy, $29.9 million Osborne High School rebuild and an east Cobb area middle school replacement at a cost of $29.1 million.
Marietta City Schools’ $55.4 million list includes paying off $15.2 million in debt, $16 million in technology upgrades, $20 million toward construction, modifications, renovations and equipment and $2 million for transportation.
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Might I suggest to you, that you start contacting all your pro-SPLOST buddies right now, and see what they can come up with to help us prop up the existing system. BTW, there is NO money to maintain all these new facilities...or the old ones for that matter....in the general fund. In case you did not know, that is where maintenance funds come from....not your SPLOST.
It is ironic that they choose to cast stones, once again, based on their ignorance of the world around them. These paragons of virtue who dare question the integrity of others no doubt cast their allegiance with the Cobb Taxpayers Alliance, an organization so devoid of integrity that it put out a threatening phone call on the eve of the election that claimed the school district would take away the precious senior exemption for school property tax. The claim was 100-percent a lie and a desperate and deceptive attempt to scare seniors and sway the vote. Is that an honest way of doing business? Or, how about the fact that the organization hasn't even filed its paperwork with the Secretary of State, as required by law. Has anyone bothered to check that out? How about you, MDJ? Where is the reporting on that one? Is breaking the law just another example of conservative virtue from the people who purport to know what is best for us? And they have the nerve to state that the school district is somehow mismanaging public funds without providing a shred of evidence. It almost defies belief.
Fortunately, I see better days ahead. The sons and daughters of these troglodytes seem to have much better walking-around sense. They seem to have a more sophisticated understanding of the world around them, and a more practical acceptance of how to make it grow and prosper. I, for one, am optimistic. The SPLOST program has been renewed and no one will suffer for it. No one's taxes are increasing, and no one is going to go bankrupt paying the same one-percent they've paid for the last 15 years! Good for Cobb County, good for the schools, and good for the taxpayers.
"NOT ONE MORE CENT UNTIL WE STOP THE WASTE!" is the battle cry, even though few of these zealots can identify the specific "waste" (unless you define waste as gyms, auditoriums, and athletic facilities as waste, even though these are components of all schools, private and public).
God man!, facilities wear out and need to be replaced. Buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s were not designed to last into the 21st century. Further, schools are high occupancy with a lot of children, so they take a lot more abuse than an office building.
As far as this being the 4th SPLOST, SO WHAT? Maintenance and replacement construction are an ongoing process. The first 2 SPLOSTs were primarily to address rapid growth in the county. SPLOST 3 was part growth and part addressing old facilities. SPLOST 4 is the first one dedicated to replacing old, moldy, and in some cases rat infested facilities.
The bottom line here is that most who are opposed don't really have a grip on the needs to maintain a school system with 120,000 students. Rather, these folks, many in retirement, cling onto made up or out of context "facts" to justify not contributing anything to the society that they live off of (i.e. the ridiculous school property tax exemption for people over 65, even though all of the kids educated in the system take care of them).
So go ahead and spend $6 in gas money to drive to Paulding County so you can save $1 on a $100 purchase. We would expect that kind of logic from you.
Artificial turf - waste (the ongoing maintenance is hidden from the public)
Technology that is still sitting in its original packaging - waste
Technology bought, then instructional training cancelled, so it is not being used - waste.
Classes for bus drivers on how to pump gas - waste
Shall I go on?
By the way. it is not 120,000 students, it is 107,000, per CCSD's figure, Who gave you yours?
You drank the Kool-aid, now you are angry at those who did not.
Didn't like the projects list? Where were you when it was being discussed in the public meetings last fall?! Why didn't you express your concerns then?! I saw meetings where others did express their concerns and the project list was revised as a result.
Think "they should learn to live on a tighter budget like we have to at home?" What makes you think they don't?! Four or five years ago, the budget was about $1.2 Billion for teaching 106,000 students. NOW the budget is about $800 Million for teaching more than 107,000 students! Have you really cut YOUR home budget by 30% ? Really?!
Seniors enjoy exemption from school property taxes now. The Ed-SPLOST passage means that is more likely to stay that way.
If you don't like the way taxes are in Cobb, you can move to any of the surrounding counties and pay MORE that you do here... your choice.
But then that is the primary reason the BOC held a special election.
Its time for our law makers to limit special elections for electing an official in a dire circumstance such as death.
Special elections are not for sneaking a tax past unknowning citizens. And as another poster said where was the advertising.
Big deal. Compare that to Cobb property owners in Cobb, UNDER 62, who would have ended up with a school board increase in their property taxes if the E-SPLOST had not passed last night. They certainly are not complaining about the extra one percent.
Over 62, complaining about paying one extra percent when shopping. It's not 10%.
It's defined by the teachers, the quality of the education, the graduation rate.
New gym, new theater...does not equal good education.
Using SPLOST to pay off debt doesn't solve the problem. As soon as the money is spent, if they don't get their budget under control they will be right back in the same situation.
And shame on John Loud. He's a business owner and SHOULD understand economics. How can he support such a stupid system of constantly taking more money from citizens to prop up a faulty education budget?
The way he's been planting himself in the news lately makes me think he's planning on running for office.
In that case, we don't need another clueless person in office if he's in favor of this never ending SPLOST mess.
Nor has there been any monies from any past SPLOSTS or vendors paid via SPLOST projects ever been given to me or my company LOUD Security Systems, Inc.
I also have no interest in bidding or working on any of the future SPLOST funded projects. Public School systems is not the scope of work LOUD Security works in.
We do however do many private schools and large church facilities.
This was about what is the best for our school system, best for the children in our community, best for the Cobb County Property Taxpayer (for which I own 4 properties)best for our property values and future economic development.
John Loud
First, if you are going to put yourself out there, you need to toughen up.
Second, judging by the pic in the MDJ, you are busy basking in the sunshine of the Chamber folks. Must have been quite nice to have done their dirty work for them.
Third, while in your mind it is two separate issues, tomorrow we will hear the finance director for our school system tell everyone that the general fund is broke and that we are going to have to reduce the school week, educational time, and increase furlough days.....all while you and your SPLOST team get to plan new buildings, theaters, concession stands AND the occasional maintenance issue. It is certainly a great day to be YOU.
a life-long Cobb resident
a home owning tax payer in Cobb
an Osborne graduate
am not an employee of Cobb
have no children.
According to the article on the AJC.com about this subject, it cost our county $300,000 to run this special election. Did the election in November sneak up on us! Seems like we could have had this on that ballet and voted then.
That's the part that really stinks about this. If they really believed in this so much why not put it on the ballet last November and let a much larger population give their opinion. And, yes, I actually do know why they don't. They can't stack the vote that way.
Get ready friends and neighbors. There will be SPLOST 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and 10. THIS WILL NEVER END. The should change the name of this program... there is NOTHING and all "Special" about SPLOST!
Will there every be a point where we are "Taxed Enough Already?"
Good grief!
Oh, it be!! BOOYAHHHHH!!!! One for the good guys!
Liberals in the City school district voted a well organized YES TAX US, overwhelming the Tea Party's NO, TAX ENUF ALREADY votes from unincorporated Cobb.
The Yes votes win, and the unincorporated residents go unrepresented in the vote, taxed against their will.
Or did it go down the other way 'round?
Either way, this vote that commingles separate school systems and separate voters, forcing the overall outcome onto both systems, STINKS and I would figure can't be any more legal than Roger Hines claimed the first Sunday Sales vote to be.
If a single issue election is only unethical today it should be made illegal tomorrow. Cobb elections board obviously did not want the whole county to vote on this since since they staged it so only a network of beneficiaries would turn out to vote. 40,565 votes cast out of county with a population of 530,851 (Cobb residents over 18 - 2011 census)means 7.64% of the population was informed and involved in the vote. That is shameful and it worked as it was designed to work. Is this really the America we are proud to call home?