With the passage of a special sales tax referendum on Nov. 8, DeKalb, Atlanta and Decatur school systems are developing a timetable over five years for the projects they will fund with the $600 million they are projected to receive from the tax.

The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) passed county-wide with a vote of 62 percent and begins on July 1, 2012. The 1 percent tax will help pay for school renovations, capital improvement projects and revamping technology in schools.

City Schools of Decatur will receive approximately $18 million from the tax and has a project list that includes renovations at Renfroe Middle School, the creation of a new central office building, energy-efficieney changes for HVAC systems and additional elementary classrooms.

“We are grateful for your continued support of our school district. Our students and faculty will benefit greatly from the priorities outlined in our SPLOST IV Plan,” City Schools of Decatur Superintendent Phyllis Edwards said.  

“On behalf of the board I want to make sure that we commit our pledge to you that we will be accountable and transparent to the use of those SPLOST dollars that you chose to trust us with,” DeKalb School Board Chairman Tom Bowen said at a recent meeting.

In addition to the construction projects currently under way, such as the building of the new Chamblee Charter High School, the system is developing a timetable to decide which ones are most urgent. This year, the system is also rebuilding seven elementary schools.

“For the capital renewal piece we’re going to do that in the order of the highest need but with the larger projects, it’s going to depend on the complexity of the project,” said Dan Drake, the system’s director of planning and forecasting.

Drake said the system hopes to have a completed timetable by March but it would begin on some of the projects—such as installing new HVAC units at schools in need—as soon as possible.

“We just want to make sure that we do the best planning,” Drake said.

Recently, the system announced its development of a citizens’ oversight committee to watch how SPLOST dollars will be spent. Six members of the 12-person committee will be appointed by Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson. The first six will then appoint the additional six members.

School system spokesman Walter Woods said the committee is a superintendent committee rather than a board committee and Atkinson would begin appointing members within 30 days.

“We’re looking for people with expertise in terms of construction, accounting and audits, people who know what they’re looking at,” Woods said.

Atlanta Public Schools also receives $19.5 million from the tax and school system spokesman Keith Bromery said several schools in the system located in DeKalb County would undergo projects such as upgrades of security infrastructure, and HVAC repairs and replacements.