Voters decide March 16 on tax for education

Early voting is underway on whether to continue a one-percent sales tax to help fund education in Catoosa County.

The tax, known as the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST), must be approved by voters and lasts for five years each time. Catoosa voters have given ESPLOST the green light five times since 1997. Continuing ESPLOST means the county’s sales tax will remain at 7 percent.

Funds from the tax are used to provide classrooms and schools, safety and security initiatives, technology, new buses, and maintenance. ESPLOST VI, if approved, is projected to generate about $40 million during its five-year lifespan.

Early voting for ESPLOST VI continues through March 12: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Freedom Center, 5238 Evitt St. in Ringgold, and the at West Side voting precinct, 3319 Lakeview Drive in Rossville (next to Westside Elementary School). On Thursday, March 11, the two voting sites will be open two hours extra, until 7 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, March 16, when all 11 of the county’s polling sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The county Board of Education, with input from parents, employees, and community members, identified the following priorities for ESPLOST VI: technology, facility equitability, and a College and Career Academy. ESPLOST also funds routine maintenance of facilities, HVAC, roofing, painting, and new school buses.

Technology

Catoosa County Public Schools has provided personal technology devices for students since 2016. This 2021 ESPLOST would fund new ipads and Chromebooks for every student, teacher, and updated classroom technology.

New facilities

Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High School Performing Arts Theater: A performing arts theater would be built on the LFO campus. This theater would provide opportunities to showcase the tal