The first fallout

of the failed SPLOST proposal occurred Tuesday night when School Board

Chairman Mike Sumner said that a tax increase might be inevitable.

Coweta voters

went to the polls March 20 and defeated by a narrow margin an extension

of the school system's current one-cent sales tax.

Now, the board

is staring down projects that were to be paid for by the tax, but no money

to fund them.

Sumner said

the county is currently doing reassessments on a portion of the county's

property owners. Since the property values are surely going up, Sumner

believes many homeowners will be facing a tax increase this fall.

The school

system had pledged to reduce the millage rate by one mil if voters passed

the tax. Since the school system will not be lowering the rate, there

is no cushion to help homeowners who see a jump in their assessment.

Superintendent

of Education Richard Brooks also announced that after the SPLOST defeat,

he immediately froze spending on any projects that were not absolutely

necessary.

Prior to the

regular board meeting, resident senior citizen Bill Cussard told the board

why the vote failed.

"You've

got 35,000 people that didn't vote," he said.

The senior

said all the blame could not be laid at the feet of seniors who were upset

with the board for not moving quicker in finding a tax break for senior

citizens.

In fact, Cussard

said he would pay for flyers if the board decided to call for another

vote next spring, but added he would like to see some tax relief.

He suggested

the board follow what Cobb County did.

Cussard said

Cobb officials gave seniors a sign-up period to come in and prove their

age and where they lived. The seniors who signed up were granted a 100

percent exemption on the school portion of their tax bills.

Board Member

Alan Payton asked Cussard if he knew what Cobb County's millage rate was.

Cussard said

he did not ask that question and Payton said many of the counties in the

area have higher millage rates than Coweta.

The board has

not decided if they will seek another vote for a SPLOST next spring.