Whitfield County residents can vote on another ESPLOST May 24

Ryan Anderson, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·4 min read

Feb. 22—With the current Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) concluding at the end of this year, Whitfield County Schools is seeking a new ESPLOST through a May 24 vote by the public.

Whitfield County Board of Education members voted 5-0 Friday to call for a May 24 special election. Dalton Board of Education members did likewise Friday.

The maximum collection for what would, if approved by voters, be ESPLOST VI would be $140 million, split based on enrollment between the two school systems. Dalton Public Schools would receive a maximum of nearly $52 million, or 37%, with the rest for Whitfield County Schools.

"We've worked in conjunction with Dalton Public Schools to develop this, and we've worked for months to narrow down (our) project list," said Mike Ewton, superintendent of Whitfield County Schools. Middle and high school athletic facilities are among the identified projects, as well as infrastructure.

There's also a "general category" covered under the referendum's language that allows school systems to spend ESPLOST funds on projects not specifically outlined on the ballot, if necessary, he said. For example, "I don't anticipate us using money for buses, but it allows us to if we need to."

"The first thing is infrastructure — roofs, sewers, air conditioning — things that aren't 'exciting,' but you don't want them to fail," Ewton said. "We can also do a lot with energy conservation and safety and security" at schools.

More "high-profile" projects are "athletic renovations on outdoor facilities we've not had the funds to do" previously, Ewton said. "Some of our middle and high schools have facilities and buildings that need a lot of work."

The school system would install artificial turf on the football and soccer fields at Coahulla Creek High School, Northwest Whitfield High School and Southeast Whitfield High School, he said. "Football season rolls into soccer," and then there's spring and summer football practice, so the fields "don't get much of a break."

"Soccer is played on dormant bentgrass, which makes it hard to recover," he said. "It's an ongoing battle to maintain."

The school system also wants to make high school baseball and soccer fields turf, he said.

"We're looking to merge those two — we can't afford to turf both the baseball and softball fields, but we can do one (field) — with movable fences" that would be adjusted depending on baseball or softball games.

In addition, the football and soccer fields at Eastbrook and Westside middle schools "have drainage issues and some ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance issues" that need to be addressed, he said. "We also have some ADA issues at some of our elementary schools" that would be rectified with ESPLOST funds, as "those are some of our older buildings."

The estimated cost for projects that would be financed by ESPLOST VI is $88 million, he said. The school system has already used ESPLOST funds for several notable projects, including opening a pair of new middle schools in the past two years.

"It's very needed, and we have two beautiful new schools" — North Whitfield Middle School and Valley Point Middle School — because of ESPLOST, according to Carolyn Weaver, who represents District 3 on the Whitfield County Board of Education. "It's such an important thing for our school system."

"Without ESPLOST, this would not have been possible, and that cannot be overstated," Ewton said last year as the school system prepared to open the new North Whitfield Middle School.

A SPLOST is a 1% sales tax on most goods sold in a county. School systems use their version for capital improvements — like renovating current schools and building new ones — buses, safety and security improvements, and technology, but not operating expenses.

ESPLOST V concludes Dec. 31, so ESPLOST VI — if approved by voters — would begin Jan. 1, 2023. Voting on May 24 will be at regular voting locations, and polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

There will also be early voting from May 2-20 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays in the county Board of Elections office, and also on two Saturdays, May 7 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the Whitfield County Board of Elections and Registrar.