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Effingham County board briefed on SPLOST cap, $115 million referendum draft and bond options
Summary
Financial advisers told the Effingham County school board the district is likely to hit its current SPLOST cap early and outlined a draft November referendum that would ask voters to extend SPLOST and authorize up to $115 million in bonds, with options up to $175 million.
Tom Owens of Raymond James told the Effingham County Board that the district’s current Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) is growing faster than expected and could reach its cap before the five-year term ends.
“We are on pace to reach that cap in September 2026,” Owens said, and recommended putting a referendum on the November ballot so voters can decide whether to continue collections and whether the board should be authorized to issue general obligation bonds.
Owens described draft ballot language that would present a single question to voters: whether to continue collecting SPLOST and whether to authorize bonds up to a specified maximum. The draft in the board packet included a $115,000,000 cap — up from the $75,000,000 cap voters approved previously — but Owens stressed the figure is an authorization ceiling, not a spending guarantee.
He walked the board through eligible SPLOST expenditures under the draft language, including additions and improvements to South Effingham High School, construction or acquisition of new educational buildings, transportation improvements, safety and security upgrades, and the cost of carrying out projects. Owens emphasized that, by law, SPLOST funds are limited to capital items and cannot be used for recurring operating costs such as teacher salaries.
The presentation also covered bond-authority sizing and borrowing strategy. Owens outlined example authorizations ranging from roughly $100 million to $175 million in $25 million increments and showed estimated annual debt-service payments compared with current SPLOST collections. He recommended issuing bonds in series and using longer maturities to preserve operating cash rather than issuing short-term, high-payment debt.
Owens noted practical steps and timing: the board would need to adopt a referendum resolution at its next meeting to meet the schedule for a November ballot; the board of elections and the secretary of state have additional programming and advertising steps after the board acts. He also described standard features of bond sales —premium, call options and potential refunding if market rates fall— and said authorizing a larger amount does not require immediate issuance of the full authorization.
The board did not vote on a referendum or bond authorization at this meeting. Owens asked the board to review the draft resolution and project list and indicated he would return with more detailed numbers for any cap the board prefers.
