For the next few weeks, The Crossroads will highlight the great things ESPLOST has done for the students of Emanuel County. This week will look at the years spanning 1997 through 2002. The Chronicle reached out to Emanuel County Schools Superintendent Scotty Hattaway, who shared some perspective on what has been accomplished with the advent of ESPLOST.
At the time that ESPLOST became a reality for citizens all across the state of Georgia, the vision had already taken shape by former Emanuel County Schools superintendent Betty Y. Brown and the school board during those years, which consisted of Billy Edenfield, Donna Foskey, Jerry Johnson, Nick Kraus, Lucious Merrion, John Neighbors, John Turner, David Mills, Burley Page, Dorothy Wynn, Coy E. Youmans, George Archie, Loy D. Cowart, John Torpy, and Bill Rogers. Their vision was to have all of the Swainsboro schools on one road that would aptly be named “Tiger Trail.” They also envisioned the construction of a new Twin City Elementary.
These schools were built with advance funding and from bonds taken out by the Emanuel County Board of Education. ESPLOST funds were then used to pay back this funding and bonds. The architect firm of Buckley and Associates oversaw the construction.
Since then, four more ESPLOST referendums have been passed by Emanuel voters. Look for articles outlining the benefits of those ESPLOST dollars in the coming weeks.
The newest ESPLOST referendum will appear on voters’ ballots across the county in the General/Special Election on Tuesday, November 2. Vote “yes” at that time; our children are worth every penny. If passed, ESPLOST IV will run from 2022 to 2027.