Columbia County voters agree to extend school sales tax

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EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Columbia County voters on Tuesday approved continuing a 1% sales tax that goes toward schools.

The county has had the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or ESPLOST, for 25 years. age will continue the tax, not raise taxes.

Approval will extend the tax until 2032.

The tax helps pay for construction projects like new schools and classrooms. It also pays for school buses, maintenance, technology and more.

The extension of E-SPLOST, coupled with general obligation bonds, will fund renovations and new classrooms, as well as provide additional technology improvements, according to the Columbia County School District.

“Approval would ensure that the penny would continue to be collected and that there would not be gaps in the district’s ability to fund identified projects,” the district says on its website. “Without these funding sources, the school district would be limited in its ability to modernize, update, and maintain its existing school facilities and projects would be placed on hold.”

What will be funded with approval of the ballot item:

• Renovate and add classrooms at Evans, Lakeside, Harlem, Greenbrier and Grovetown high schools, Grovetown Middle School, and Grovetown Elementary School
• Address identified needs at all schools
• Upgrade student facilities
• Enhance technology, including new devices and infrastructure improvements
• Provide safety and security upgrades
• Continue preventive maintenance of existing facilities
• Purchase new school buses
• Pay off existing general obligation bonds with previous building programs.

Columbia County coroner

Also on the ballot, voters decided on a new coroner for Columbia County.

After Vernon Collins retired in 2023, Keith Cox was appointed interim coroner. He’s not running for election, though.

Republican Terry Norman won the job Tuesday with 65.6% of the votes vs. Democrat Helene Bratton’s 34.4%.

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