Board Of Education Reassured About Sales Tax Collection

Oconee County Schools and the Board of Education have shifted their attention from spending money from the current Education Local Option Sales Tax to making sure that the revenue the tax produces in its remaining months will be sufficient to pay back the bonds sold against that revenue.

At the regular meeting of the Board of Education on Monday, Saranna Charping, chief financial officer for Oconee County Schools, told the Board that spending on the budgeted projects for the current Education Local Option Sales Tax, or ELOST V, is nearly complete.

Charping said $281,058 in unspent but budgeted funds are needed to complete the systemwide technology upgrade, and $246,660 is needed to complete the purchases of six new buses.

Revenues from the remaining 39 months of ELOST 5 will go toward bond payments of $24,535,237, Charping said in her report to the Board. Only $1,324,463 has been paid to date against the original $25,859,700 owed.

Board Member Tim Burgess asked Charping if she was confident that the revenue was sufficient to pay the bonds and produce a surplus, and Charping said she was, but her answer was a cautious one.

An analysis of the documents released by Charping and data from the Georgia Department of Revenue indicates that the school system should be able to make its bond payments easily, even with the declines in revenue experienced in recent months, and have funds remaining.

For more on the story, with a video of the meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.