Gilmer County Charter Schools ELOST “Wish List” to Cost Upwards of $58 Million

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Ellijay, Ga – At the end of the called Board of Education meeting, on October 20th, 2014, Superintendent of Schools Jason Kouns presented what could be a $58 million “wish list” to be paid for with ELOST (Education Local Option Sales Tax) dollars.
After all of the line items were covered, Kouns spoke to say that there was one more item he wanted to cover. The item was not placed on the agenda because it was not something that would be discussed in detail.

Kouns then proceeded to present the board members and those in attendance at the meeting with a list of suggestions of how the ELOST dollars should be spent, from both internal and external sources, that had been brought to his attention.

“There is no action to be taken nor is there any progression that is requested at this time. I simply wanted you to be updated as we move forward with the opportunity to see what the community has requested,”

said Kouns to the board members.

In Kouns’ response to an email sent by FYN, Kouns stated that if any type of true action or proposal was needed/required that it will certainly be placed on the agenda to be discussed publicly.

Kouns also made it known that the board is still taking suggestions at this time that could be added to the list.

Once all the suggestions are in the list will be prioritized. Priority will be based on the Board of Educations consensus regarding district needs. This will happen through open dialogue.

The list must be prioritized and finalized by the end of November so that it can be sent to Kennesaw State University in December for the ballots to be printed. A special election will be held in the spring of 2015 for voters to decide whether or not to approve the one percent sales tax to be used for the educational purposes that make the finalized list.

Click the link below to be able to view a list of the items that have been recommended:

GilmerCountyCharterSchoolsSuggestionsList.pdf

Watch the video below to hear Kouns presentation of the updated “wish list”:

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