25-02-2025
Early voting has begun for Savannah schools' ESPLOST V vote, Chamber endorses measure
More than $700 million in proposed public school facility projects is on the line March 18, when residents not too winded from the St. Patrick Day Parade and Festival celebrations can head to the polls to vote on the fifth iteration of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System's Educational Special Local Option Sales Tax or ESPLOST.
For those who wish to avoid the St. Pat's overlap, early voting began Monday. Voters can review proposed plan highlights at dedicated ESPLOST V page.
ESPLOST I and its subsequent extensions of the 1% sales tax have brought in over a billion dollars to the school district's coffers and alleviated bond debt.
A recent endorsement by the Savannah Chamber of Commerce noted growth in Western Chatham County as a main driver of the Chamber's support. President and CEO Bert Brantley also cited support for how the school district's facilities investments factor into investments in teachers and curriculum to create "stronger educational outcomes and a more skilled workforce."
A skilled workforce is tantamount for local business leaders as the region amps up to meet the demands of the manufacturing industry growth due in large part to the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America facility in Bryan County as well as the Georgia Port Authority's expansion.
Here's a look back at how past ESPLOST votes may provide insight for the program's future.
Georgia first adopted and implemented the Special Purchase Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) as a financing tool for counties in 1985. In 1996 the laws governing SPLOSTs were expanded to include education systems within counties.
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System leaders first pursued an ESPLOST referendum in 2006 under the leadership of former school board president Hugh Golson and former superintendent Thomas Lockamy.
The Savannah Morning News reported in 2017 on Lockamy's retirement and he reflected back on ESPLOST. The reporting stated that the original ESPLOST plans were meant to "replace aging campuses" but were "adjusted so the board could fund the Passport plan. Passport's primary focus was building K8 schools in growing West Chatham suburbs and creating high-end academic specialty schools that would stop white and middle class flight."
Major ESPLOST projects have included the construction of a $37.3 million New Hampstead High School in West Chatham (ESPLOST I), nearly $70 million toward the construction of three new K-8 schools (ESPLOST II) and the roughly $180 million Davis-Edwards-Harris Educational Complex (ESPLOST IV). The complex's initial budget was $118 million, but building supply costs skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and delays due to subsequent change-order needs raised the academic building costs by roughly $30 million. The complex's athletic facilities and fieldhouse project is still underway with costs exceeding $33 million on that separate contract.
Additionally, the school board approved a $2.6 million bid by the Samet Corporation to update the complex's Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) building from open studio-space initially designed for use in cinematic or digital career development. The updates will include aviation and sheet metal labs, an aircraft assembly area and heavy equipment operations training area per a December 2024 email from the district's Public Information Manager Sheila Blanco. She stated that changes to the space are to "support the needs of the immediate surrounding community" particularly related to future growth and alignment to workforce needs geographically close to the complex.
District leaders and board members cannot predict certain factors like supply chain challenges and costs or public sentiment toward facility plans approved years early. So ESPLOST project adjustments have been common occurrences.
For example, ESPLOST III had intended for the DEH educational complex to be a K-12 facility. Then, after construction had been well underway, public pushback led Superintendent Denise Watts, who inherited the project from former Superintendent Ann Levett, to reimagine it as a 6-12 facility.
Similarly, ESPLOST IV initially called for renovating Bloomingdale Elementary School, but district leaders ultimately decided it would be more fiscally responsible to do a full rebuild. The decision impacted funding amounts as did unforeseen supply chain cost increases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both factors forced the school district to table some ESPLOST IV projects, which now appear in ESPLOST V.
The district's proposed ESPLOST V projects have left room for adjustments, as well. Projects such as the new vision for 208 Bull Street and a new educational complex in West Chatham to include a K-8 school and Pooler's first high school remain in development even as the referendum date approaches.
Despite alterations to the scope of ESPLOST projects over the years, the public has continued to show support at the polls for extending it. While voter turnout has fluctuated due to national or local races coinciding with ESPLOST ballot measures, the public has approved ESPLOST in every iteration.
ESPLOST I vote on Sept. 19, 2006 *Special election
Total: 23,801
Yes: 13,276 (60.28%)
No: 10,525 (39.72%)
ESPLOST II vote on Nov. 8 2011
Total: 39,313
Yes: 26,930 (67.13%)
No: 12,923 (32.87%)
ESPLOST III vote on Nov. 8, 2016 *Presidential Election year
Total: 108,020
Yes: 64,468 (59.68%)
No: 43,552 (40.32%)
ESPLOST IV vote on Nov. 2, 2021
The 2021 general election did not include any statewide or national elections. - not sure this is needed but interesting
Total: 22,612
Yes: 16,765 (74.14%)
No: 5,847 (25.86%)
All previous referendum votes took place in November. Whether bucking that trend for ESPLOST V favors the school system or not this time around will become clear on March 18.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@ and @jschwartstory84 on
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Early voting started Monday for Savannah schools' ESPLOST V vote,
