Proposal Alters School Tax Rules

Albany Herald
Editorial
February 9, 2010


With downward pressure on education spending coming from the federal level to the state and then to local school districts, some legislation entered in the state House on Monday merits a close look.

State Reps. Ed Rynders, R-Leesburg, and Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, say that House Resolution 1203 and House Bill 1020 would change state law to allow local school systems much more flexibility in how sales tax revenues are utilized for education purposes.

HR 1203 and HB 1020 would change the rules regarding special local option sales taxes that are passed by local voters for education purposes. Currently, only capital projects, such as building construction, can be funded by the education sales tax. Under the proposed legislation, the legal expenditures would be expanded to include maintenance and operations.

“Current law ties the hands of local school systems and only allows for sales tax revenues dedicated to education spending to be used for capital outlay projects like new buildings,” Rynders said Monday.

“Many school systems are at a point where the use of sales tax revenues would be better suited for other purposes besides construction, particularly in these trying economic times. This legislation gives voters the option to make this decision through a locally held referendum. The bottom line is to let the people decide if they want to build buildings or furlough teachers.”

Parrish added, “By expanding the use of ELOST funds, local school systems will have greater flexibility over how taxpayer dollars are used to meet their most pressing needs.”

The proposal comes as the Legislature struggles with more cuts to a state budget that is, in many ways, already lean. The resolution and bill won’t have any immediate impact, since the earliest they could possibly go into effect is some time after the November elections.

HR 1203 is a constitutional amendment and as such must be approved by supermajorities in the Legislature. Both the House and Senate will need approval from two-thirds of their respective members for the measure to go to the governor for his signature. If signed by the governor, the measure would be decided by Georgia voters during the November general election.

HB 1020, meanwhile, needs only simple majorities (50 percent plus one) in both legislative chambers and the signature of the governor to be adopted. It would go into effect if the resolution is ratified by the state’s voters.

There may be some reasons not to do this. For instance, state officials could see the ability of local school districts to pay for expanded spending categories as a reason to cut state spending in those areas. On the other hand, it could also bring tax relief to property owners who bear the brunt of local education costs now.

The ramifications should be looked at from all sides.

But there is plenty of time to gather information and to debate the potential positive and negative effects of the legislation before the general election comes around. The voters of Georgia pay these sales taxes, and they should be the ones who decide how they want the money spent. The Legislature should give the voters a chance to do that this fall.

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