The Ed-SPLOST VI major project needs list includes Infrastructure improvements.
HVAC systems are part of the infrastructure that maintains a learning environment where teachers can teach, and students can learn. HVAC systems are essential to keeping students and staff comfortable in their classrooms.
All schools eventually need infrastructure items, like HVAC systems, replaced.
Two other infrastructure items critical to a school building include plumbing fixtures and lighting. All have limited life spans.
Regular maintenance issues that any homeowner knows all too well—roof leaks, wind and hail damage, clogged gutters, siding repair, just to name a few—are multiplied in a school district the size of Cobb, which serves 107,000+ students and 112 school buildings. Every building has individual needs and roofs, and HVAC systems need to be replaced every 15-20 years.
More efficient replacements keep operational costs lower and school buildings ready to welcome students.
Under the proposed expenditures in Ed-SPLOST VI, 31 schools in the District will get HVAC upgrades, and 36 will get new roofs. If approved by voters on November 2, 49 schools will get flooring replaced, and 43 will get new doors, windows, and hardware. Other improvements include painting, signage, parking lot resurfacing, and bus canopy additions and replacements. If Ed-SPLOST VI passes, then the penny tax will fund these school projects.
Ed-SPLOST dollars have also gone toward many other school support services, including transportation, buses, communication equipment, food and nutrition services equipment, furniture, signage, storage, and more. When considered on the classroom level, Ed-SPLOST has funded 3,339 classrooms, with 240 more currently being built or planned. The total classroom expansion since 1998 through Ed-SPLOST funding is 3,579! Learn more about an overview of Ed-SPLOST $$ in Cobb here.
Without Ed-SPLOST, the District may need to borrow the money for the necessary upkeeps and construction projects. In this Chairman’s Brief, learn here about the difference between using the one penny Ed-SPLOST tax to pay as you go versus bonds and long-term debt.
