Taylor said out-of-town shoppers, and citizens who live in Washington County who are not property owners, will contribute to the educational needs of our students.
by Kathy Foster
Washington County School Superintendent Joe Taylor was guest speaker at Tuesday’s meeting of the Chipley Kiwanis Club and fielded questions concerning the proposed ten year half-cent sales tax facing local voters on the Aug. 28th Primary Election ballot.
While stressing the need for the sales tax to help fund current and future technology needs for the District and provide for improvements and construction of school capital outlay projects, including construction, additions, and replacements of school facilities, Taylor also touched on the recent performance audit of the Washington County School District.
Before being permitted to put the issue of a half-cent sales tax on the ballot, the School District had to undergo an intense audit to determine if they handled the money they had in a proper fashion and Taylor said he was very pleased that the District passed that test with flying colors.
The performance audit of the District focused on improvements and construction school capital outlay projects the District had undertaken over the past three years and the audit identified no issues or concerns related to the economy, efficiency, or effectiveness of the school capital outlay program.
Questioned by Kiwanians regarding to need for funds to continue to upgrade technology infrastructure, Taylor said the proposed sales tax will provide funding to replace technology-based devices which need to be replaced on a rotating basis.
Taylor said it just boils down to the fact that new technology is constrantly emerging and the District has to keep up with what’s happening.
Taylor described the proposed sales tax as “a win-win for Washington County students and the community”.