CSD Provides SPLOST FAQ
Decatur Metro | September 28, 2011 | 12:33 pm
Nothing like a post title where of three of the four words are acronyms!
Asst. Superintendent Thomas van Soelen writes in to let us know that the City Schools of Decatur has created a helpful “Frequently Asked Questions” page for the “Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax”, which goes before voters for another vote this November.
The page features a list of 13 “frequently asked questions”, including “What is the education SPLOST?”, “What is decision-making process for a SPLOST approval?”, “How much revenue can CSD expect to bring in from the SPLOST?”, and “Can the Superintendent or staff advocate for or against the SPLOST referendum?”.
Probably some of the most interesting pieces of info are in response to questions 8 & 9. They read as follows…
8. What kinds of projects are slated for the SPLOST IV if approved?
Potential projects include the following: continued classroom renovation at RMS, renovation of the old gym at RMS into classrooms, acquisition of facilities leased by CSD such as ECLC and 5th Avenue, payment of debt related to the General Obligation Bond, the creation of a new Central Office Building, energy-efficiency changes for HVAC and other units in the schools and additional elementary classrooms.
9. Why would a central office building be included?
Central Office employees have been working out of the Westchester building. If enrollment continues to rise, the building may again be needed to house students. The administration has looked at the possibility of renting space within the city. The approximate annual rental cost of $250,000 must come from general funds, not SPLOST funds.
In addition to the FAQ, the page features links to a SPLOST presentation, photos of completed projects, a full project list and a SPLOST resolution.
I figured retooling Westchester would need to happen eventually. I haven’t been over there much but recently for a soccer game I noticed it is not a large building (looks smaller than Winnona Park at least). Wonder if they would expand it in addition to renovating. Or even what grades it would handle.
It would need a lot of retooling inside because of changes made since it closed, e.g. kitchen equipment removed and art room made into office suite, but building and renovating has never fazed CSD and I’m sure it would be handled just fine. The auditorium/gym/stage hasn’t changed much. It still has the (then) brand-new lighted marquee that the PTO bought. The underground sprinkler system might have been ruined by the lawn parking.
If I were the families likely to sent there, I’d start advocating for a playground now or at least start raising the funds for one.
It has a playground, fairly well kept up too. May not be up to school standards, however.
Free Westchester!
Decatur uses its money well, but the vote is for DeKalb county as a whole, and given the apparently rampant corruption in DeKalb County School System, I wonder whether raising sales taxes in order fund capital improvements at DCSS is actually on balance a good thing. (DCSS certainly has lots of needs, but its past performance doesn’t inspire confidence that tax money would effectively address those needs.)
I wonder why the last statement on the CSD prepared FAQ information is “RMS and Winnona Park (are) the polling places” ? What about the polling places on the northside ot town?
Maybe those are the only two CSD buildings being used as polling sites? But that is weird, not to mention the other polling sites.
Vote SPLOST IV (since CSD can’t legally advocate for passage of it themselves)! Also, ditto Tiptoe’s sentiment. As one of several Westchester neighborhood residents with small children…we have been waitin’…and hopin’…and wishin’…for Westchester…to reopen…for so….long. However, it appears from the FAQ doc that SPLOST funds can’t be used to pay for the rental of office space for central office staff. Could the SPLOST revenue be used, in part, to prepare Westchester for students?
Perhaps I am misremembering, but I thought CSD owned the 5th ave property, while the city owned the other school properties. Why does CSD need money to buy the property?
CSD could use SPLOST funds to purchase property neighboring schools or to purchase land that could be used for future construction of a new school or facility. When 5th Avenue was being built, the City actually purchased a lot neighboring Pocket Park.
Well, FYI, the other polling places are:
Lutheran Church of the Messiah
First Baptist Decatur
First Christian Church
Holy Trinity Episcopal
but you’ll need to double check your polling place–it doesn’t necessarily correspond with where you live (I vote at a polling place that is further away from my house than another polling place)
A careful reading of the SPLOST says that they can use the money to demolish Westchester and build a Central Office.
I thought you were joking, but then I looked more carefully at the project list. Looks like in #4 CSD is reserving the right to use the SPLOST funds for construction (including demo) of any of its school buildings. I’m hoping this is broad pro-forma language.
Wow, why would they do that? Besides being costly when they already have adequate digs, that would actually be a true breach of faith. When they closed Westchester, they promised that they would keep it available in case it were needed again. That’s on record someplace for sure. With a functional auditorium/gym/stage, cafeteria, and classrooms, I’d rather this be made into a community or senior center than torn down for an office building. Free Westchester! Seriously! Hopefully CSD will make their intentions clear because otherwise that possibility makes voting for SPLOST less attractive.
Now maybe they are thinking that they need to tear down Westchester like they did Fifth Avenue and start all over again. But they haven’t let Westchester deteriorate like they did Fifth Avenue. It was renovated a few years before it closed whereas Fifth Avenue K-5 never got its promised renovation.
Agreed. Is there anything less likely than needless political suicide?
SPLOST can only be used for capital projects and not for leasing expenses. In the info posted on the CSD website you will see that purchase of central office space is one option for use of SPLOST funds. Rehabbing/opening Westchester for students may become a necessity if population continues to grow (as I think most of us expect it will).
In order to address concerns about use of funds, Dekalb has come up with a very specific project list to reassure taxpayers the money will be used wisely. It is vital, however, that Decatur residents vote to support SPLOST because the negative impact on our budget if SPLOST fails will be in the neighborhood of two million dollars a year.
SPLOST is a funding source for capital improvements. Capital improvements are the addition or restoration of permanent structures or some aspect of a property that enhances or increases its overall value or useful life.
So yes, SPLOST can be used to bring the Westchester facility back into service as a school.
Question about SPLOST referendum:
For CSD to get SPLOST revenue, does it have to pass in:
DeKalb County only?
City of Decatur and DeKalb?
City of Atlanta and DeKalb Co and Decatur?
or some other combination
The SPLOSTIV renewal must pass in DeKalb in order to collect for all school districts in DeKalb. Failure to pass it, county-wide, will impact funding for DCSS, CSD, and APS.
@TOK – this vote is to continue the tax currently in place. SPLOST is how we are able to raise money to fund our schools. Without SPLOST, your property taxes will go up (the Board will revoke the Homestead Exemption and raise the millage rate). Furthermore, the currently dilapidated state of our school facilities will continue. SPLOST IV continues the work on behalf of our students and teachers. Voting down this source of funding sends the message to our students and teachers that we do not care about them or the horrendous facilities we have forced upon them. The project list is already set and cannot be changed.
If you want to send a message to the DeKalb County Board of Education, vote them out next year!
Follow us on twitter at @SPLOSTforDEKALB. Like our Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/friends.of.dekalb.education. Get out the vote and help our schools keep improving!
DCSS engaged an outside engineering firm to do a comprehensive evaluation of all its facilities, and scores from those evaluations are what produced the DCSS list of projects. It’s very objective and all the supporting documents are online either at DCSS’s 2020 Vision page or http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/splost-iv.
Just a slight correction to SusanAnne’s comment about the homestead examption: a portion of it outright disappears automatically (by operation of law) without any action whatsoever from any Board of Education. With the school SPLOST, everyone’s property taxes will go up for 2012.
As for Westchester, I saw that Phyllis Edwards was quoted in the AJC a couple weeks ago explaining that reopening Westchester in 2-3 years was likely, particularly if SPLOST funds are available.
[...] approve the measure, the existing sales tax will expire on June 30, 2012. The Cities of Atlanta and Decatur and Fulton County also will be voting on the [...]