Ellijay, Ga – The Gilmer County Board of Education called a meeting for November 3rd to present and discuss the first draft of the project list for the 2015 Educational Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST).The proposed “wish list” was first presented at the BOE meeting on October 20th, 2014. The list was composed of 18 projects that were derived from both individuals in the school system as well as individuals in the community. To complete all 18 projects it was estimated to cost in the ballpark of $53 million.

However, if the Gilmer county citizens were to vote on and pass the ELOST referendum come March 2015, the county is only projected to bring in between $17-$21 million. That would mean that the board members would need to collaboratively prioritize and trim down the list to work with the projected ELOST income over the next 5 years.

Therefore, the first draft of the prioritized/condensed ELOST list was presented and worked through at the November 3rd called meeting.

Gilmer County Charter Schools superintendent Jason Kouns started the discussion on the ELOST list by presenting his list of recommendations, which he was asked to come up with per school board member Michael Bramlett at a previous meeting.

Kouns list reflected what he saw as the greatest needs for the school system to be able to effectively reach the most children. Kouns top three priorities on the list were items that he saw as strong necessities for the betterment of the school system.

First on his list was providing all the school systems with the proper technology needed to meet Georgia educational standards. Since the state of Georgia plans to have grades 3rd through 12th test 100% online within the next five years, providing the schools with more computers will help prepare students to test completely on computers.

Second on Kouns list of necessities was to provide the school system with several new school buses. The life span of a school bus solely used on pavement is approximately 10 years. Unfortunately, school buses in the North Georgia Mountains spend a lot of hours and miles on dirt or gravel roads, thus cutting down the buses life expectancy.

The third item that Kouns saw as an item the school board should maintain as a necessity was that of current facility upkeep and safety implementations. Kouns stated that he felt that spending ELOST dollars on renovating things such as bathrooms and classrooms, along with other renovations, as well as installing more security cameras and safety measures were things that needed to be at the forefront of ELOST prioritization.

Following Kouns three absolute necessities he listed items that he strongly urged the board to consider such as an agricultural complex and athletic renovations to Gilmer High school and Clear Creek Middle School.

Kouns made it very clear that his list was solely his suggestions and that his list should carry no more weight than that of any one else’s suggestions. The finalized list will be decided amongst Chairperson James waters, Vice Chairperson Jim Parmer, Board Member Angie Thomas, and Board Member Michael Bramlett.

After collectively reviewing the list that Kouns had put together, the board members agreed that the first three items Kouns suggested were indeed items that they would prioritize as absolute needs for the school system.

The board also added the agricultural complex and the athletic renovations to Gilmer High and Clear Creek Middle School to the necessities portion of the first draft. The remaining 12 items of project list, including the aquatic center and performing arts center, were placed in a category to receive monies if the ELOST income were to surpass the projected amount.

With the first draft being narrowed down and semi-prioritized, the final draft will be completed and presented at a public BOE meeting on a date to be announced before December 18th.

Watch the full first draft discussion below:

ELOST UPDATE from Fetch on Vimeo.