The North Augusta Chamber Executive Committee and Board of Directors unanimously voted on Tuesday, February 20th during their regular, monthly board meeting to endorse the passage of a $90 million bond referendum on the May 1st  county ballot.  The proceeds will be used to finance the costs of acquiring, constructing, improving, equipping, expanding, renovating, and repairing school facilities.  This referendum will provide funding for six schools in the Aiken County Public School District with significant impact to North Augusta.  Supporters agree that approval of this bond referendum is essential to the North Augusta community.      

Several Aiken County Public Schools are already operating over capacity in North Augusta, Graniteville, and Aiken; Byrd Elementary and Midland Valley High in the Graniteville area, and Belvedere and Hammond Hill Elementary in North Augusta.  In addition, there are three schools in Aiken with safety and traffic concerns.  With the economic acceleration in our county, we are starting to see growing job opportunities brought on by recent investments in the CSRA by Fort Gordon, Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, residential and commercial growth, and industrial manufacturing.  This significant growth is driving the need for renovations at Belvedere and Hammond Hill Elementary.

Many are amazed to hear that our public schools do not receive any state or federal funds for capital improvements.  In addition, there has been no successful bond referendum in 30 years.  Since the 2014 successful 1cent sales tax, we have seen extraordinary improvements for the five schools impacted by those funds, but that tax is not renewable.  Supporters would have to approve a new tax in a referendum in the future.  A “yes” on the bond referendum on May 1st jumpstarts the ability to begin construction on the six schools in 2019 when they are needed and avoid a delay until 2025.

Our business community is counting on our school district to provide an excellent, educational opportunity and learning environment for our students.  By addressing the urgent needs of our facilities, we will help ensure our community’s ability to continue a standard of excellence, safety, security, and learning environment that our students deserve.  Our neighborhood is in a community wide economic acceleration and the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce is asking to please vote YES on May 1st.