Gwinnett School Board Gives Thanks

At a quick Gwinnett County Board of Education meeting Thursday (Nov. 20) night, a theme of thankfulness was present. While some members mentioned the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, all gave thanks to Gwinnett County residents for passing the one-penny special purpose local option sales tax for education, or ESPLOST, in the Nov. 8 election.

“It’s very confirming, very heartening,” said District 2 Board Member Daniel D. Seckinger of the public’s confidence in the board to do right with their tax dollars and their support of education.

District 3 Board Member Dr. Mary Kay Murphy also expressed gratitude. She pointed to the important roll the ESPLOST funds have played in helping Gwinnett schools keep up with tremendous growth in the area in years past. “We hope this will help us get ahead of the growth,” she said. Murphy represents Duluth Cluster schools and part of the Peachtree Ridge Cluster. Duluth students attend schools in both clusters.

Carole Boyce from District 1 said she was particularly impressed given the tough economic times. “We know that every dollar is crucial,” she said. “To know our community supports this is valuable.”

Chairman Dr. Robert McClure pointed to the current mood in America. “There’s an anti-tax, anti-government sentiment in this country,” he said. “There’s no way for government to do its job unless you pay. I would hope people would stop to realize that.” 

The ESPLOST funds are expected to bring in an anticipated $876 million, according the Gwinnett County Public Schools. The projects tapped for ESPLOST funds through 2017 include five new schools, air conditioning for gyms and technology upgrades, among other projects.

The proposed improvements include renovations to Duluth's Monarch School for special needs students, returning it to use as a middle school with 42 classrooms in 2016. This would be a second middle school in the Duluth Cluster. Other projects include a new middle school containing 40 classrooms in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster in 2014 and an addition to Peachtree Ridge High School containing 16 classrooms in 2017.

During the public comment period, community member Craig Lownes spoke up in favor of the vote — but questioned the policy of borrowing millions to fund ESPLOST projects in the coming years. “It seems that borrowing and paying interest is a waste,” he said to the board. He said that spending the money as it came in would show the public that they are good stewards.

Gwinnett Schools Chief Financial Officer Rick Cost later said that given the interest rate of the bonds at less then 1.5 percent and the current rate of inflation at 2.5 percent, borrowing the money makes good financial sense to him.