October 19 Update

The citizens of Catoosa County have supported the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales (ESPLOST) tax since 1997. ESPLOST is the one cent sales tax on all consumer purchases. ESPLOST has allowed Catoosa County children to attend school in safe and well maintained facilities, to have access to extracurricular activities in nice gymnasiums and beautiful stadiums, to showcase their talent in theaters, to have individual technology devices in technology driven classrooms, and to travel to school and activities in safe buses.

In addition to being confident that our children have excellent schools and academic opportunities, ESPLOST benefits citizens because people outside the community are contributing to our students’ education every time they shop, eat, and buy gas in Catoosa County.

The Board of Education is in the planning process for ESPLOST VI, which will appear on the ballot on March 16, 2021. Typically, the Board holds a Community Engagement Meeting to listen to stakeholder input. Due to the COVID pandemic and limits on the number of people gathering in groups, the Board has created an alternative way to safely present potential projects and receive stakeholder feedback.

Please review the ESPLOST VI potential project video and visit the ESPLOST page listed below. While this is an alternative to the typical large group meeting, the Board is happy that citizens will have two weeks to watch the video at their convenience and provide input. We have created an email specifically for ESPLOST input and comments: [email protected].

On behalf of the Board of Education, students in our schools, and employees in our system, I would like to sincerely thank Catoosa County’s citizens for supporting ESPLOST.