The mood

was somber at the Fayette County Board of Education

Wednesday morning, following a night of disappointing

election returns on the $90 million sales tax/bond

package.

Voters

rejected the one-cent special purpose local option sales

tax designed to raise money for construction of four new

schools, additions at six existing schools, upgraded

technology and security devices by 51.8 percent. The

"yes" votes totalled 5,580, 48.12 percent, and

the "no" votes totalled 6,015, 51.8 percent.

Fayette is

the only county in the 20-county metro area not to have a

SPLOST, and the only one in 10 in which voters turned

down the penny tax for the purpose of funding school

construction and improvements.

Board

members and the school district's administration were

visibly disappointed Wednesday morning when they convened

to accept the election results.

"The

voters have made it clear; they don't want to put extra

money into education in Fayette County," said school

board chairman Debbie Condon. "We have the best

school system in the state of Georgia. We live in an

affluent community and people didn't bother to go and

vote," Condon added.

Voter

turnout was 21.7 percent, slightly lower than anticipated

for the special referendum. Out of 53,541 eligible

voters, 11,595 turned out Tuesday.

"I

feel that we took the appropriate steps to meet the

growth and build additional schools," DeCotis said.

"We'll reassess the 10-year plan and the five-year

plan and look at making adjustments," DeCotis said

in light of the SPLOST defeat. "We will not have the

resources we thought we'd have. We'll have to do more,

because of growth, and do it with less. It's going to be

difficult to provide the services people are accustomed

to receiving. We'll ask for another tax to address these

needs," DeCotis told the board.

"Statewide,

every other county passed it. I hope the citizens who

have supported this [SPLOST] will continue to support

us," he added.

Board

member Connie Hale reaffirmed her support of DeCotis and

said, "I don't think the school system will go

downhill tomorrow because of this; the board will work

with you to see that it doesn't."

According

to state law, the school board cannot hold another

special referendum for a year and one day. Its funding

options are limited to a bond issue, special local option

sales tax or borrowing the money, which DeCotis said is

not feasible. While other school districts in the country

can benefit from impact fees collected from developers,

Georgia districts cannot, by law, levy such fees.

In addition

to losing the $90 million in anticipated revenue from

SPLOST, the school district also will lose $3 million in

state growth funds because of its inability to raise its

$5 million share, according to DeCotis. The money was to

be used for building a new elementary school and middle

school.