City council approves school bond resolution
Published 4:13 pm Tuesday, March 23, 2021
THOMASVILLE — Thomasville City Council took action Monday that will put a $42 million school bond question on the November general election ballot.
Following a motion by Council member Todd Mobley and a second by Council member Jay Flowers, the vote was a unanimous yes.
Kejar Butler, chair of the Thomasville City Schools Board of Education, said the city school board is grateful for the relationship between the city board of education and city council and for the shared commitment to provide students with every opportunity to obtain academic excellence.
“I’m very pleased the Thomasville City Council has approved our bond resolution to give voters an opportunity to support our bond, which will enable us to provide with students with state-of-the-art, 21st century facilities,” she said.
The Thomasville City Board of Education has approved the joint resolution. The resolution requires city council approval to appear on the ballot.
“The board of education is a creature of our charter,” City Attorney Tim Sanders recently told council members.
Sanders said the city school board is looking toward passage of a series of future successful education special purpose local option sales tax (ESPLOST) elections to pay off the bond.
“These are general bonds of the city,” Sanders said before the Monday meeting.
If ESPLOST elections failed or “fell short,” the city school board would have the option to raise taxes to pay off the bond, the city attorney said.
He said the school board can levy a bond tax outside of millage for maintenance and operations of the city school system.
City council levies school taxes. The bond millage would go before city council for approval of overall school millage.
“They set the rate, and the city levies it for them,” Sanders said.