Ask your

neighbors why they moved to Fayette County and I'll wager

that the vast majority will say the schools were the

primary reason. Those who don't answer first with schools

will no doubt reply about the quality of life here, a

quality that is greatly enhanced by the school system.

The list of

items to be funded by the SPLOST was determined by the

school system in concert with a committee of parents, and

will do much to equalize the facilities provided to the

various schools in the county. If you doubt the validity

of the needs, visit the schools, talk to the

administrators and let them show you around their

facilities. You will find that the dollars will be well

spent.

The

question then becomes how to fund these items, by

property or sales tax. I think we will all agree that

there is no good tax, so it comes down to the lesser of

the evils.

I believe

the sales tax is the better answer for several reasons.

1. The

sales tax is for a set period of time and a specific

amount of money. When the five years elapse or the dollar

amount is raised, whichever comes first, the tax goes

away. If our property taxes are raised to pay for these

items, and these projects will have to be covered sooner

or later, what do you figure the odds are of the tax ever

dropping again?

2. Any

logical person can see that the high rate of growth in

the county is going to continue for many years to come.

The projects to be funded by this SPLOST will go a long

way toward bringing us up to date, but they will not end

the needs of the school system.

What

happens in a few years when we have to build more schools

and add to the existing buildings? If we go with the

SPLOST, the tax will be ending and we can then decide

whether or not to approve another sales tax or property

tax. If we decide now to go with a property tax increase,

it will still be on our bills for many years to come and

we will be forced to add ever-increasing amounts to our

property tax bills.

Plus, it is

as simple as deciding how long to finance a car. The

shorter the loan, the better off you are financially.

3. Most of

the arguments in favor of property tax funding of these

needs base their comparisons on a $100,000 selling price

of a home. The average price of a house in Fayette County

is now about $190,000. This significantly increases the

property tax bite.

4. The next

time you are shopping at the Fayette Pavilion or eating

out in Peachtree City, take notice of how many cars in

the parking lot are from outside the county. Why not let

these visitors help pay for these improvements?

Every

county surrounding us is at 7 percent sales tax. Even

with the increase, we will still be below our neighbors.

5. Based on

a very conservative estimate of our growth rate, the

sales tax will fund all the specified items on the list.

Taking into account the more likely larger rate of

growth, we will begin to build a "nest egg"

toward funding future schools for the system. It will

have to be done, so advance funds would be a huge help.

6. We have

already had to account for a major increase in the price

of many of the improvements since the last vote. The

longer we wait, the more it will cost.

We need to

keep our school system first rate for the youth of this

county. All in all, I believe the SPLOST is the least

painful way to pay for the needed improvements to the

schools.

Tom Dunn

Peachtree City

<!-------------