Early voting on a 1-cent sales tax for education ends at 5 p.m. today, and about 1,300 votes were cast as of Thursday.

Charlotte Sosebee, interim director of elections and voter registration, predicts it could be the lowest turnout in the history of the special purpose local option sales tax for education.

"My prediction is about 7 percent turnout, based on the early voting numbers," Sosebee said.

Turnout for the first SPLOST for education election in 1997 was about 12 percent, and it was 10 percent in 2001. Sosbee said the vote in 2006 was held during a primary, which generally boosts voter attendance and brought 26 percent of voters to the polls.
Sosebee added that turnouts for special elections are typically low.

"I'm not sure why that is; it may be because there isn't a person on the ballot," she said.

Residents can vote today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hall County Elections Office on Browns Bridge Road.

Funds from the SPLOST are controlled by local school leaders and are directed solely for school construction work and equipment and do not fund salaries or programs.

It's also a separate tax from the 1-cent sales tax controlled by Hall County commissioners and used to cover projects such as roads, libraries and parks.

Several of the voters who trickled into the elections office Thursday for early voting said they were in favor of the SPLOST, including Tevi Henson, a teacher at West Hall High School.

She said she voted "yes" because of the way the outcome could affect her property taxes. School officials have said that to pay off bond debt in time, which was accumulated before SPLOST was first passed in 1997, the system may have to raise the millage rate if the SPLOST is not renewed.

"I'm a teacher but I'm also a property owner. With a sales tax, it comes from everyone who spends money in Hall County, including people who come to visit or go to (Lake Lanier)," she said. "That way, it's not just on the backs of property owners, and I think that's more fair."

Martha O'Kelley was another supporter.

"I don't always agree with what they use the money for, but I have an interest in the schools. I have grandchildren at Flowery Branch High School and Davis Middle School," she said.

School leaders in Hall County and Gainesville say renovations would be a major focus of SPLOST IV.

Funds from some of the early SPLOSTs were used to construct new schools after explosive growth in the 1990s.

As enrollment slowed in recent years, officials said they now can focus on the district's facilities, many of which are between 40 and 65 years old.

Gainesville City Schools is using a portion of the funds to rebuild Fair Street International Baccalaureate School, built in 1937. The district also plans to renovate several school buildings and pay off $5.1 million in outstanding debt that funded land purchased for Gainesville Middle School. The funds are due in 2018.

Hall County is seeking to renovate each of its 33 school buildings and upgrade electrical, heating and air conditioning units. Another focus is to pay $9.7 million in outstanding bond debt that is due by 2014.

The tax is expected to generate $130 million over five years for Gainesville, Hall County and Buford City Schools.

Sosebee said the elections office is prepared for high turnout today. The office will have staff on hand and extra voting machines.

Sosebee said the tax was approved by 81 percent in 1997, 83 percent in 2001 and by 60 percent in 2006.

Election Day is Tuesday with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.