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Advanced Voting for SPLOST

Julie Bercik

Story Created: Sep 9, 2009 at 6:13 AM CDT

Story Updated: Sep 9, 2009 at 6:13 AM CDT

Early voting for the Muscogee County School District's Special Local Option Sales Tax started Tuesday.
All this week you can cast your ballot at either the Government Center or Public Library on Macon road.
NBC 38's Julie Bercik has reaction from voters.
Fifteen percent turnout is all the Board of Elections expects this week of advanced voting.
Now the polls here at the library open at 9:30 a.m. the polls at the Government Center open at 8:30 a.m.
NBC 38 spoke to voter about the proposed SPLOST, and found out there’s a lot of mixed feelings about it.
Voters we spoke to say improving education for the children is a priority, but some are hesitant to vote yes because of the way tax money has been spent in the past.
"I'm really against it,” said Stephen Olliff.
"I'm for it simply because in retrospect it will help rebuild and spruce up some of the schools in our neighborhood,” said Jason Stoudemire. “And if they do what they say they're going to do, it will benefit the children.
"I'm for it. I think it will be great for the children,” said Sandra Dukes.
“I believe I will vote yes because there's nothing more important than education,” said Julie Whitney.
"There's a lot of things going on about the SPLOST. I have a lot of questions about it,” said Alton Russell. “One is what's going to happen if they cannot raise the whole $223 million, what is the priority, who are they going to leave out?"
“I'm for it. I believe that everything we do for our children is for our own benefit,” said Miriam Kent.
'I really don't know enough about it to say yes or no,” said Kathryn Means.
Tuesday the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce announced its supports the SPLOST. Chamber of Commerce Chair, Russ Carreker released the following statement:
"The general consensus of our board and our membership is that this SPLOST is a wise investment in the future of our community. In general, I believe that our membership has a renewed faith in the leadership and board of the Muscogee County School District, and, as they always have, our membership has a great desire to have a world-class public education system that is capable of producing a world-class workforce. We believe that this SPLOST is a step in that direction, and thus, our board is pleased to offer its unanimous support of this SPLOST."