View the short video above for a full overview of Catoosa and ESPLOST!
ESPLOST Facts: Investing in Our Students and Community
ESPLOST, Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, is a dedicated one-cent sales tax, established by the Georgia Legislature in 1996, reserved exclusively for capital projects and maintenance. By law, these funds cannot be used for salaries or day-to-day operations. Currently, 158 of 159 Georgia Counties have an ESPLOST.
Benefits for Students and Schools:
- Safety and Security: Funds critical upgrades like secure entrances, camera systems, and emergency response infrastructure.
- Technology/Infrastructure: provides the necessary infrastructure schools need to run security systems, computers, phone systems, WiFi, intercom systems, computer labs, etc., in addition to computers for every student, which are required for state-mandated testing and 21st-century learning.
- College and Career Readiness: Supports advanced programs like the College and Career Academy, providing dual enrollment and technical skills in high-demand fields (healthcare, criminal justice, construction, logistics).
- Facility Maintenance: Funds essential maintenance, including new roofs, HVAC replacements, playground upgrades, and renovations to ensure equitable and functional learning spaces.
- Transportation: Provides revenue for maintaining and purchasing safe, modern school buses.
Benefits for the Community:
- ESPLOST ensures that every visitor to our community invests in our schools. It is a sales tax, meaning its cost is shared by everyone who shops, dines, or conducts business in Catoosa County, including visitors and non-residents, which distributes the school tax burden, lightening the load on local property owners.
- Whether visitors pay 40% or more of the total ESPLOST receipts, one thing is certain: ESPLOST leverages our extraordinary location on the I-75 corridor to benefit every person in our community, ensuring we reap the benefits from the visitors who stop at one of our four exits to shop or refuel their vehicles.
- ESPLOST is utilized in 158 out of 159 counties in Georgia.
ESPLOST Planning and Financial Flexibility
Why can't the school district provide a specific, detailed, project-by-project list for the full five-year term? This is due to important legal and financial considerations:
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Fund Collection Time: ESPLOST revenue is collected over a multi-year period, not all at once. While we do sell a portion of the expected revenue in a bond for immediate major projects, the full amount becomes available over a period of 60 months.
- Bidding Laws: All major projects must follow strict state and local bidding laws, and the scope and cost often adjust based on the competitive bidding process.
- State Approval: Georgia law requires school districts to submit their capital projects and improvements to the Georgia Department of Education’s Facilities Services Unit. The review process involves multiple stages (such as preliminary/check-set review, documentation compliance, and local matching/funding verification), extending project timelines.
- Market Fluctuations: The cost of construction materials and labor fluctuates over five years. Flexibility is required to adapt to the market and secure the best value for taxpayer dollars, avoiding being locked into old price projections.
- Critical Repairs and Operational Resilience: Over the next five years, managing more than two million square feet of school facilities will naturally bring unexpected maintenance challenges. While we follow the state’s long-term facilities plan to stay proactive, we also recognize the importance of flexibility. Emergencies such as major roof leaks, sudden HVAC failures, or unforeseen structural damage require immediate attention to keep our schools safe, functional, and welcoming for students and staff.
How have we used ESPLOST in the past?
ESPLOST I, II, and III were primarily used for new schools and classrooms to accommodate growth in the community.
ESPLOST IV
The Board of Education listened to stakeholders when planning for ESPLOST IV and established three priorities, in addition to maintenance of facilities: Safety/Security, Facility Equitability, and Technology.
ESPLOST V
The Board of Education conducted a Strategic Plan Survey in 2013, and listened to stakeholders at a Town Hall Meeting in 2014, to determine community priorities for ESPLOST V. The Board of Education determined to continue community priorities in the following areas: Safety and Security, Technology, and Facility Equitability.
ESPLOST VI
In March of 2021, the Board of Education surveyed it's stakeholders and using the results of the survey prioritized ESPLOST VI projects to benefit students in every school with updated 1:1 technology, new school buses, facility equitability projects to revitalize schools, and an exciting new College and Career Academy to prepare students from every high school for highly skilled, high demand, good paying jobs, while improving workforce development in the region.
ESPLOST VII
Catoosa County citizens have the opportunity to continue ESPLOST VII by voting on November 4, 2025. In response to the 2025 Strategic Plan survey, Catoosa County Public Schools plans to use these funds to benefit student instruction with updated technology infrastructure and classroom equipment, improve academic achievement through digital curriculum and assessment programs, maintain and improve safety, bus fleet maintenance and replacements, and continue to improve facility equity.