Elections used to be all about picking a candidate, but in recent years voters have been given opportunities to dictate how taxes are collected and how that money is spent to a degree.
Greene County voters will be asked to approve an Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) as well as a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST). If both are approved the tax rate in Greene County will rise to 9 percent.
Proponents of the special taxes say they are necessary to keep Greene County’s millage rates the 13th-lowest of tax collecting entities in the state. Proponents also argue that a sales tax would be funded in large part by visitors to Greene County.
Officials disagree on precisely how much of the money would come from outside of Greene County, but figures between 40 and 65 percent have been presented. Greene County’s amenities associated with Lake Oconee are cited as a big reason why a large portion of the sales tax would come from residents of other counties.
The ESPLOST would be capped at $75 million over a period of five years to be used for the purpose of “acquiring, constructing and equipping new school buildings, administration buildings, athletic buildings and other facilities useful or desirable,” primarily targeting the construction of a new middle school on the Lake Oconee Academy campus to get students out of aging temporary facilities, according to Mark Lipscomb, co-chair of the 2026 ESPLOST Renewal Committee.
The current ESPLOST is expected to hit its $39 million cap by the end of 2027 or early 2028.
Language in the ESPLOST referendum says that the GCSS is allowed to procure bonds of up to $50 million in general obligation bonds so that necessary projects can begin when needed instead of waiting for tax money to be collected. School officials say they won’t borrow any more money than necessary.
According to the Greene County School System website, improvements to Anita White Carson Middle School would include “renovated bathrooms, new LVPflooring, replacement ceilings, and a new roof. The project would also include a redesigned media center to provide a more modern, flexible space for reading, research, collaboration, and learning. Improvements to the CMS athletic field would further support student athletics and outdoor activities.”
The GCSS would also like to expand the scope of its College and Career Academy which will be used by Greene County High School and LOA students. By the same token, AP classes would also be consolidated so that both schools don’t have to hire teachers for this purpose.
Funds raised by the ESPLOST could also be used for the construction of a fine arts center, the purchase of school buses which cost approximately $200,000 each, new technology aimed at improving security and safety on school campuses, as well acquiring land for future school facilities.
According to Lipscomb, the GCSS plans to be frugal with ESPLOST funds and not create an excessive amount of debt, hopefully resulting in a surplus and not more debt service and the interest payments that come with it.
Lipscomb says currently leadership on the BOE, including Superintendent Dr. Aaryn Schmul, who took office in July of 2025 and Board Chairman Dr. Otho Tucker (elected in November of 2024), were able to turn a shortfall of nearly $1 million in FY206 into a surplus of nearly $500,000, which he says demonstrates fiscal responsibility to stakeholders.
According to Lipscomb, enrollment in Greene County schools has been flat over the last few years but that could change drastically as an estimated 6,000 homes, some of them marketed to growing families, are being built and sold.