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

February 9, 2008

Voters Approve $750 Million GO Bond

   Thank you to voters and community volunteers in Peachtree Corners, Norcross, Duluth, Berkeley Lake, and areas in Peachtree Ridge who approved a $750 million General Obligation Bond referendum in the February 5, 2008 Georgia Presidential Primary. 

   The initiative will not increase taxes in Gwinnett County but will provide money to build eight new schools, additions or renovations to 10 existing campuses, including Chesney Elementary School in Duluth, and technology improvements for elementary schools across the county. The new schools and additions funded by the bonds are scheduled to open in 2010 and 2011.

   The Gwinnett County School System is the largest of Georgia’s 180 school systems. Its enrollment continues to grow. In 2007-08, there are 155,618 students enrolled in 111 schools. By 2014, the system will need to add 30 campuses for an expected enrollment of more than 175,000 students. Some of those new schools would be paid for through the $750 million bond referendum that Gwinnett voters passed by 73% in the February 5 election.

   In addition, the bond proceeds will fund technology improvements and land for future schools. The construction means that fewer of Gwinnett County’s students will attend class in portable classrooms—trailers.

   Special thanks go to the grass-roots citizens campaign that led support for the GO bond program. Mike Levengood, a parent from the Parkview Cluster, was Chairman of the Citizens Campaign. Aaron Lupuloff, a parent from the Norcross Cluster, led the District III Citizens Campaign.

   There were several distinct components of the February 5 election that approved the GO Bonds, as follows:

  • 100% of the voting precincts in Gwinnett County approved the referendum. 
  • Voter support was strong across the County with the majority of the precincts generating support from voters at levels between 80% and 100%.

   Gwinnett County Public School system is the only large system in the nation to hold a AAA Bond Rating from Standard & Poors and an AA+ rating from Moody’s. Those ratings will prove to be fortunate for taxpayers in the county as the system monitors the market over the next three months to get the lowest interest rates. 

   There will be no need to increase the tax rate to pay for the bonds because soon the system will pay off some old debt. By keeping the portion of the tax rate used to pay off debt at its current level, the system will have the money to pay off the bonds.

   General Obligation bonds are used when a government entity such as a school system wants to borrow money for specific purposes, in this case eight new schools and additions to ten existing campuses. The system will use a broker to sell these bonds to institutional investors to buyers who provide the system with the face value of the bonds. The school system will pay back borrowed money with interest over a predetermined number of years.

   If voters had not approved the GO Bonds, the school system would have had to stop building schools for two years and students likely would have been reassigned to trailers.

   The GO bonds were needed to supplement the money that the system gets from the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) renewed in 2006 to be paid through 2012. The system expects to receive $850 million instead of the projected $1 billion from the current SPLOST over five years. 

   Currently, Gwinnett County does not have enough schools and classrooms for student needs. The GO bonds will allow the system to meet current enrollment needs. In 2007-08, 59 of 111 schools are crowded over capacity for all students to be assigned to classrooms instead of trailers.

   Without the GO bond money, the school system would have been behind in its program to build more than 30 campuses by 2014 with the goal of keeping up with Gwinnett’s fast-growing student population.

   Many Gwinnett residents do not have children attending public school, but their support for passage of the GO Bond was important and most impressive. A good strong school system is a benefit to all in Gwinnett County, whether we have children in the public schools or not. The school system is an economic boost for Gwinnett County, as businesses locate to communities with strong schools.

   In order to complete the building program by 2014 to meet its student enrollment needs, the system has plans to call for a fourth SPLOST to fund 11 new schools and eight additions to existing schools. 

   As the District III School Board member, I thank the voters and volunteers whose support was essential in the passage of the $750 million General Obligation bond referendum. We deeply appreciate your investment in our community and your trust in our ability to provide classrooms for all children in Gwinnett County by 2014.

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