Sales Tax Revenue Down Again, School Board Told

Tax collections for the Oconee County Education Local Option Sales Tax were down more than 2 percent in August compared with August of last year, marking the fifth time in the last six months that the education sales tax revenue had been lower than a year earlier.

Over the first 20 months of the current tax, called ELOST V, the average monthly change over a year earlier remains positive at 7.8 percent, but the trend line since October of a year ago has been negative.

Saranna Charping, chief financial officer for Oconee County Schools, released the most recent tax collection data at the regular Board of Education meeting last week, but she did not comment on the negative trend, and no member of the Board made note of it.

Charping also reported that the ELOST account currently has a little more than $6.2 million available for debt service and that $38.3 million budgeted for ELOST projects has been spent.

At the end of the recognitions section of the meeting, the Board honored Superintendent Jason Branch, who has been named recipient of the Georgia School Superintendents Association Bill Barr Leadership Award.

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