Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) Superintendent Denise Watts, Ed. D., must finalize a plan for the next iteration of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) by Dec. 18 if a referendum vote can make the ballot box by March 18, 2025.
Adding to the pressure to move quickly on the referendum, the district has also nearly reached its $410 million collection limit for ESPLOST IV―a year ahead of schedule. To accommodate western Chatham population growth and maintain timely continuity of capital improvement projects, Watts and her team have been seeking feedback from school board members since the August board retreat .
At a follow-up board workshop on Oct. 31, Watts admitted to “struggling a little bit” with crafting the plan as the school district weighs an array of facilities, technology and academic programming needs.
Should the board approve Watts’s final ESPLOST V proposal, Chatham County residents, once again, will need to decide to place a one-cent retail sales tax on themselves and visitors to the county. Previously, the district requested and received the board’s approval of four ESPLOSTs dating back to 2007. All of them also passed at the ballot box.