Schools
School Board Launches Tax Referendum In Time Of Controversy
The tax would fund a large number of school capital projects. The controversy is over masks during the pandemic.
The Oconee County Board of Education tightly controls public comment at its meetings.
Citizens are not given an opportunity to speak at work sessions.
Those who register in advance are given five minutes to speak to the Board at the end of the regular meetings in what is termed the Public Communication section. Those who don’t register in advance are given three minutes.
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Generally, few use either opportunity.
An exception was the July 20 meeting at the beginning of the school year, when 19 people spoke about school policy surrounding the reopening of the schools.
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But the Board has heard from only two other speakers–though one of those appeared three times–for the remainder of the year.
The January 11 regular sessions was something quite different.
Twenty-five individuals spoke in a meeting that ran for two hours and 45 minutes, with all but one of the speakers taking a stand for or against the school’s policy of recommending but not requiring masks in the schools.
That controversy over how the Board and school administration have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic puts a spotlight on both at a critical time.
On March 16 Oconee County voters will be asked to approve early renewal of the county’s one percent Education Local Option Sales Tax so the school system can begin borrowing immediately against that tax for a long list of capital projects.
For more on this story, with video of the Jan. 11 meeting as well as three other videos related to the Education Local Option Sales Tax vote, please go to Oconee County Observations.
