Berrien’s renewal of E-SPLOST may spur effort to build performing arts center

By T.S.Carter

 

BERRIEN COUNTY, Georgia – The stage may have been set for building a performing arts center in Berrien County.

 

Going into the March 17 referendum on renewing the county’s Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, the School Board proclaimed construction of a performing arts venue as a top priority for revenues from the penny sales tax for capital projects such as equipment and new construction. Money from the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or E-SPLOST, can’t be used for operational expenses.

 

The new E-SPLOST won an overwhelming victory on March 19, garnering 396 “yes” votes to 68 nays.

 

Now two years of planning can begin in earnest. The six-year renewal, the seventh in a series of renewals that followed adoption of the first E-SPLOST in 1998, begins in December 2027.

 

The School Board expects the $170,000 the E-SPLOST generates monthly would cover construction of a performing arts center. The amount has increased since the state began allowing collection of E-SPLOST taxes on online retail purchases, said Superintend of Schools Robin Marcrum, who is retiring at the end of the year after 34 years with the school district as a teacher, principal, curriculum director and superintendent for the past 7 years.

 

The renewed E-SPLOST allows the Berrien district to collect up to $20 million in the penny tax’s half-dozen years of life. The district can borrow up to $10 million in the renewal period.

 

The $10 million is projected to be enough to meet construction costs for the center, according to Marcrum. “We do feel the cap on the debt would cover that for sure,” she said.

 

An architect advised the project could be done within the $10 million cap, Marcrum said, but added: “We have not put pencil and paper to any plans.”

 

The center would be built either on the campus of Berrien High School in Nashville or on other publicly owned land, according to the superintendent.

 

The current special penny tax, or E-SPLOST Six, has been largely used on capital projects for scholastic athletics such as running tracks, tennis courts and upgrades to athletic fields, Marcrum said.

 

The E-SPLOST Six allows bonding of $6 million in debt and caps collections at $8 million for its 6-year term.

 

“We used E-SPLOST Five for the new high school football stadium,” Marcrum said.