It has been nearly four years since the voter-approved One Cent Education Capital Improvements Sales and Use Tax took effect in Aiken County. With collections consistently exceeding projections and completed projects and phases coming in on time and under budget, District administration presented for board consideration a finalized scope and timeline for the 2014 Capital Improvement Projects at the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, December 12, 2018.
In November of 2014, Aiken County voted in support of a Capital Improvements Sales and Use Tax to address facility construction of Aiken County’s aging schools. The District utilized conservative sales tax projections provided by the South Carolina Revenue & Fiscal Affairs Office for planning purposes and as required by the enabling legislation. The Revenue & Fiscal Affairs Office projected $188,639,040 over the life of the ten year, 120-month collection period. The additional 1% sales tax took effect on March 1, 2015. Actual collections since the very first quarter have come in stronger than projected and have amassed a total to date of $62,354,443.21 (through August 31).
Revenue collected by the voter-approved sales tax works in conjunction with 8% bonds, which, prior to 2014, was the only source of facility construction funding. The 2014 Capital Improvement Projects include the new Leavelle-McCampbell Middle, reconstruction of Aiken High and North Augusta High, completion of Ridge Spring-Monetta’s K-12 campus and, as funds are available, updates to the Aiken County Career & Technology Center.
“We’re at a point in the collection cycle where we felt comfortable presenting for the board’s consideration the final timeline for each project, as well as a definitive scope for the improvements funding will provide for at the Career Center,” Superintendent Dr. Sean Alford commented.
FOLLOW YOUR PENNY
The school district is committed to sharing information about the 2014 Capital Projects. The school district’s website, acpsd.net, has a wealth of information related to the community’s investment in its public schools and is just one way that our District communicates its gratitude to the community and keeps stakeholders updated on the Progress of the Penny. Additionally, the District provides a community celebration of the projects and funding during a live-streamed broadcast annually. Most recently, Aiken County Public Schools collaborated with SRP Federal Credit Union and Security Federal Bank on a three-year print advertising campaign titled “Building Community Trust.” The quarterly ads, generously sponsored by SRP in The Aiken Standard and The Augusta Chronicle, and Security Federal in the Wagener Monthly, began in October. Please look for a published ad in this Sunday’s newspapers, and in January’s edition of the Wagener Monthly.