Amendment 5 would amend the Georgia Constitution to authorize a school district or group of school districts within a county to call for a sales and use tax referendum. The referendum called by the school districts would then have to be approved by a majority of the qualified voters residing within the limits of the county.
–https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Amendment_5,_School_Sales_Tax_Referendums_Amendment_(2018)
When I first read this amendment, I felt annoyed. It isn’t the job of the school board in a county to figure out taxes. BUT – the argument is that Local Board of Education (LBOE’s) were empowered in the 1990’s for SPLOST projects already… ok, now I’m less annoyed.
I STILL have a gut feeling that the legislative body is trying to foist responsibility onto the local politicians instead. In the exact same breath, that might be good – the local LBOE in a place like Fulton County might be grateful to be able to process requests themselves. Smaller boards however may find it more burdensome.
So which is more important, the time of the smaller boards which would benefit from having “experts” help make such rulings or freedom for larger counties/boards that could use more dexterity? Either way, the voters would need to approve it…
Ok, so I think I’m going to vote “yes” on this one. I still have some faith that people want educated children and MIGHT actually approve such a tax. I could be wrong, but I think it isn’t a terrible idea…. I think. I hope.
Dream by Day 