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.
Kelly J. Huff
Kelly J. Huff
Debra Miller and Carol Lindsey, who both live in Marietta, said they voted no for the 1-cent sales tax because of what they referred to as a lack of accountability.
“I don’t mind it if there’s accountability for it, but I’ve lived in Cobb County since 1968, and there’s a long history of them doing things, but yet the money disappears so there’s no accountability and the kids still can’t read and write,” said 61-year-old Lindsey.
Lindsey said another point of contention was the election date itself.
“They are wasting time and resources to hold it now because they know that only 10 percent, if that, will come out to vote, and the 10 percent that does will support it,” she said.
Another no vote was cast by 23-year-old Brittany Kreider, who is a college student at the Art Institute of Atlanta.
“I don’t believe we need to be raising our taxes,” she said. “The money never goes where it’s supposed to go.”
Kreider also voted against the TSPLOST this summer.
Vincent Duckery, a 50-year-old delivery truck driver, said he believes the school districts need to look for other ways to take care of their maintenance and operations costs.
“There are just too many people out here out of work, and it’s really tough on the people who are working when you’re constantly getting taxed,” he said. “We’ve had this one for a number of years now, and it’s time to give it a break.”
Follow us on Twitter!
Affluence has such advantages!
1. Keep potential beneficiaries well informed of the vote.
2. Keep silent otherwise.
3. Hold the vote on an off date.
4. Tell parents sad stories of leaking roofs and being cash strapped.
Think I'm too harsh in calling the schools a government bureaucracy? The Georgia Public Policy Foundation has shown that Georgia's government schools have had an explosion in hiring non-teaching staff. If they are cash strapped, it is because they have too much fat to maintain.
http://www.georgiapolicy.org/georgia-public-schools-employ-more-staff-than-teachers/
Besides no one cares about how wide the margin or how many voted. Only the results. Besides only 17,317 voted against the SPLOST. I guess your side had more dumb people that did not vote then our side did.
So, leaving readers to find it themselves, I'll state again: Butler is plain wrong in the context of Cobb County School District. "Bloated" doesn't apply. CCSD is just about THE most efficient district in the metro area according to the Governor's Office of Student Achievement.
CCSD administrative costs represent a mere 4.9% of all certified personnel. Other districts typically are around 6 or 7% with an average of 6.5% statewide. Even adding in additional support staff, Cobb's is a full percentage point below the rest of the state (14.1% vs 15.1%).
Four or five years ago, the school district total budget was around $1.2 Billion, if I'm not mistaken. Now it's around $800 Million... about 30% less than it was before the recession.
My patience has run out for those who seem to enjoy lumping our school district in with others which have not been as well managed. Maybe if they'd take a little time to look into bogus claims like those posed by Butler, we'd have an easier time supporting our schools and their children and grandchildren!
I've heard several friends (senior citizens) who received robocalls which claimed a vote for SPLOST would result in the LOSS of the senior exemption! This blatent attempt to scare seniors may have played a role in the last-minute anti-SPLOST turnout. May be worth a follow-up article!
Mr. Duckery doesn't realize that the school districts use SPLOST as that other way to take care of maintenance costs. If the county did not have SPLOST, aid would come in the form of other taxes (like property tax). Through SPLOST we can get non-residents to help shoulder the costs with dollars they spend as they sail through the county on our highways. Yes, we've had this one for a number of years because it is relatively painless and efficient. Cutting that one penny on the dollar would put a lot of people out of work as the districts would not have funds to expand and improve...that equals jobs when you think about it.
Ms. Lindsey - there is a very transparent use of every SPLOST dime spent. Maybe you just aren't really interested in accountability, for it you seek it you will find it.
As taxes go, Cobb is no worse than any other county in the metro area, so why whine about helping schools? After all, the property values in this county are propped up by award-winning schools we have. If you cut out their lifeline, you are shooting yourselves in the foot!
When you really think about it...Cobb residents should have been turning out in droves to vote FOR the measure - all the way around it's a pretty sweet deal for Cobb.
Makes sense.
Your ignorance is epic.
The Ed-SPLOST is for education. It is controlled by the school districts, not the county government.
The majority of opposition I have encountered is well exemplified in your post. The opposition largely was due to misinformation (such as that misleading robocall!) and just plain old ignorance.