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BoE exploring options with SPLOST
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The Effingham County Board of Education is putting together its parameters for a planned renewal vote of the special purpose local option sales tax.

Superintendent Randy Shearouse said the school system would have to call for the election, which likely will be held in conjunction with the three municipal elections on the ballot. There are no other countywide votes slated to be conducted this election cycle.

In order to fund more immediate building projects, the school system may ask for either a $10 million or a $15 million bond, to be paid back through SPLOST proceeds.

“Right now, we’re saving about $250,000 a month on buildings,” Shearouse said. “We know we have that money earmarked for buildings.”

Sheaourse said the system could get a premium bond sale that would bring in more than $15 million, “which would be great for the school system. A lot of districts are selling premium bonds, and interest rates right now are really good. It looks like they will stay low.”

The system could project to take in $60 million with a renewed SPLOST, which would be $1 million in sales tax collections a month.

“If we were blessed enough to receive $60 million, we would be in really good shape with the projects we are looking at,” Shearouse said. “We’re not close to that with the current SPLOST.”

The current SPLOST took in as much as $822,000 for January 2014 and $790,000 for August 2014. Receipts for the past two months of collections were $568,322 for May and $544,701 for June. The existing SPLOST has two more years, set to expire in June 2017. The proposed vote would extend SPLOST another five years.

The current E-SPLOST was estimated to generate from $6 million-$8 million a year and was passed in 2010 with 58.2 percent of voters backing it.he bond attorney and our own attorney.

Effingham School Board Approves $203M budget with Potential Property Tax Increase
2026 budget
This chart illustrates how the Effingham County School District’s $203 million general fund is allocated for fiscal year 2026, including spending on salaries, benefits, transportation, health services, and safety and security. (Courtesy of Effingham School District)
The Effingham County Board of Education approved a $203 million fiscal year 2026 budget Thursday night, reflecting an 11% increase over last year. The rise is largely due to an $8 million spike in health and retirement benefit costs for employees. To help cover the shortfall, the district may raise the property tax millage rate, potentially increasing homeowners’ taxes by up to 12 percent.
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