Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

November 8, 2006

SPLOST Success and Teacher Achievements

   SPLOST III—a referendum approved by 67% of Gwinnett County voters on November 7, 2006—will support a $1.1 billion funding program for school improvements in Gwinnett County over five years.

   Thank you to the voters in Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, and all other areas of District III for your steadfast support of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax III (SPLOST III). 

   Voters overwhelmingly approved the extension of the SPLOST as an effective and efficient way to raise funds for construction and capital improvements for the public schools of Gwinnett County. 

   As District III has in every past bond referendum or SPLOST election, voters provided support for passage of the measure to build more than 2,000 classrooms in 27 new schools between 2007 and 2012.

   Extending the penny sales tax for another five years is important for District III, for Gwinnett County, and for Gwinnett’s students. SPLOST I and SPLOST II—in effect since 1997—have provided a major part of the solution in raising the necessary funds to build schools, upgrade technology, and provide classrooms needed for instruction by our more than 10,000 teachers. 

   In 1997 when Gwinnett voters approved SPLOST I, student enrollment was 93,509, with 3.675 classrooms available. By 2007, the county projects a student enrollment of 158,118, with 6.747 classrooms available. By 2014, the County is projected to enroll 187,538 students who will need 9,367 classrooms. By 2017, more than 200,000 students are projected to be enrolled, with more than 10,000 classrooms needed.

   SPLOST has made providing classrooms less of a burden for Gwinnett County property owners, as a large portion of the SPLOST tax is paid by those living outside Gwinnett who buy taxable goods here. SPLOST III is projected to generate, at best, $1.1 billion—enough funding to cover 40 to 50 % of the known classrooms and capital needs. Additional funding will need to be considered to complete the five-year building program.

   On behalf of Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks and the other members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, thank you to the citizens and voters of District III for your unfailing support of the passage of the SPLOST III referendum. We pledge to continue providing quality education for all of our students, to attract and keep the best teachers, and ensure that our students learn in safe, comfortable, disciplined classrooms. 

   As District III Board member, it is my privilege and pleasure to congratulate the six District III teachers who achieved the distinction of becoming certified as Master Teachers in a new State of Georgia program. These teachers earned their certification by demonstrating strong student achievement gains as part of a comprehensive application process. 

   Achieving this distinction from District III were the following: Jennifer Gillis of Richard Hull Middle School; Linda King, Linda Hoch, Trissa Luftig, and Anne Marie Scrudato of Duluth Middle School; and Abigail Krieger of Mason Elementary School.

   They are part of 199 teachers who comprise the State’s first class of Master Teachers. The program was created in 2005 by the State Legislature to recognize experienced teachers who are having an impact on student achievement and to keep Georgia’s best teachers in the classroom. 

   Congratulations, as well, to the sixteen District III teachers who achieved the distinction of being selected as Teacher of the Year for 2006-07 at their local schools. The program provides recognition for original teaching methods, teaching philosophy, and special class projects initiated with and for students.

   The following achieved this distinction and were honored at the 2006-07 Teacher of the Year Banquet held at the Gwinnett Center: Pam Potter of Beaver Ridge Elementary School; Debbie Carter of Berkeley Lake Elementary School; Rae Lynn Richmond of Chattahoochee Elementary; Mary McQuillan of Chesney Elementary; and Melissa Kinard of Duluth High School.

   Congratulations, also, to Melissa Dorsey of Duluth Middle; Eve Jones of B.B. Harris Elementary; Joan Wilson of Richard Hull Middle; Julie Voisine of Monarch School; Lauren Phillips of Norcross Elementary; Lydia Bowden of Norcross High; Sandi Keener of Peachtree Elementary; Katherine Watters of Pinckneyville Middle; Terri Emery of Simpson Elementary; Jennifer Johnson of Summerour Middle; and Allison Griffith of Stripling Elementary. 

   As important as it is to have schools, classrooms, technology, and facilities that provide a safe, secure learning environment for the 152,000+ students in our Gwinnett County public schools, it is vital to have outstanding teachers to provide the challenge, stimulation, nurturing, and accountability necessary for excellence in our core school system’s core mission—teaching and learning. 

   Thank you to the outstanding Teachers of the Year in District III on your great achievements and dedication to the students in our schools of Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Norcross, and Peachtree Corners.

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