Troup County School System to host town hall meetings

Published 12:00 am Friday, April 15, 2016

Education SPLOST focus of meetings

Contributed report

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LaGRANGE — Troup County School System announced Thursday a series of town hall meetings for information on the upcoming education special-purpose, local-option sales tax, or E-SPLOST, vote.

The following dates and times have been established:

• Tuesday, April 19, at 7 p.m., Rosemont Baptist Church, 3794 Hamilton Road.

• Wednesday, April 20, at noon, Troup County School System Administrative Services Center, 100 N. Davis Road.

• April 26 at 6 p.m., Boys and Girls Club of LaGrange, 115 E. Cannon St.

• May 3 at 5:30 p.m., Boys and Girls Club of Hogansville, 611 E. Main St.

• May 5 at 6 p.m., West Point Elementary School, 1706 East 12th St.

In addition, online social media forums will be held every Thursday beginning April 21. During the established times, Troup County School System’s Facebook page administrators will respond to E-SPLOST questions and concerns.

“We have a thriving community that receives news and information through several sources. Social media is one of them,” said Yolanda Stephen, director of public relations for TCSS. “It’s a natural fit to leverage this platform where many of our parents and community members can join in the conversation, get their questions answered in real-time, and share that information with their sphere of influence.”

The Social Media Forum dates and times are:

• April 21 at noon.

• April 28 at 6 p.m.

• May 5 at noon.

• May 12 at 6 p.m.

• May 19 at 6 p.m.

• May 26 at noon.

Hosting in-person town hall meetings and online social media conversations is an approach school system administrators believe will answer questions and correct any misconceptions on E-SPLOST.

For example, Stephen noted one common misconception is that this is an additional tax.

“A vote for education SPLOST is not a vote for an additional tax. There is a 1 cent education sales tax currently in place. This referendum is for the continuation of that 1 cent tax,” she said. “We have had this question asked in the community and on our Facebook page, so it’s important we are open about what education SPLOST is, what it isn’t, what it does to enhance student engagement and how it impacts the entire community.”

To learn more, email info@troup.org, go to troup.org or visit the Troup County School System Facebook page.

From a press release submitted by Troup County School System.