Circle March

20 on your calendar.

That's the

date the Coweta County school officials are saying could save taxpayers

$22 million.

The board unanimously

gave approval Tuesday night to call for a special purpose local option

sales tax vote. The tax would start in 2002, after the current tax ends,

and would run through 2007.

School board

officials estimate $94.3 million would be raised to build a new middle

school, two elementary schools and renovations at all of the schools.

But more importantly,

officials said, the tax also would make the school system debt free in

2008.

Merchant Capital's

Jamie Wilson said a provision of the state law governing SPLOSTs allows

school systems to use them to reduce existing debt. Chairman Mike Sumner

said the system would have loved to have done this in 1997, but had too

many projects to complete.

Wilson said

if the tax is passed, the board would be able to lower the property tax

rate for bonded indebtedness from 2.25 mills to 1.5 mills this year.

From 2002 to

2007, the millage rate would be lowered to one mill and in 2008, the school

system would have no debt.

If the bonds

are payed off early, Wilson said the system would wipe out $19 million

in principal and $3 million in interest.

If the tax

passes, Wilson said the school system could start construction on the

projects this summer instead of waiting until collection of the tax begins

in 2002.

The school

system would float about $45 million in bonds to pay for the new projects

and those bonds would be paid off by the school tax.

"Not very

many systems can do this. Most are overwhelmed by capital projects,"

Wilson said.

The school

board members were very enthusiastic about the proposal.

"This

is a way to shift the burden from property tax payers to sales tax payers,"

said board member Rick Melville.

Board member

Bill Covington jokingly said the tax would provide "some use out

of all that traffic on Bullsboro."

Chairman Mike

Sumner said there would be naysayers out there, but urged all school board

members to get out the message.