TALLADEGA COUNTY — The extension of the special school district 5-mill tax passed in both Munford and Lincoln school districts by a comfortable margin.The percentages in both races were similar. In the Munford school district, the vote was 60.15 percent (240 votes) for the tax and 39.85 percent (159 votes) against the tax. In the Lincoln school district, the vote was 60.76 percent (367 votes) for the tax and 39.24 percent (237 votes) against the tax.
Probate Judge Billy Atkinson said the vote totals are unofficial until they are certified, which should take about a week. Atkinson said there were no major problems reported at the polls.
In total there were 1,003 votes cast for both elections. Atkinson said that is around what he expected for voter turnout.
“We’re ecstatic,” Talladega County Schools Superintendent Dr. Cindy Elsberry said. “For me, it is a historic moment for these two communities to pass tax renewal. It’s phenomenal in this day and age when tax is such an issue. It’s a vote for the kids.”
Elsberry said she was worried about the vote because the School System’s most recent tax referendum in Fayetteville only passed by a slim margin.
“With this recent economic downturn, we were not sure what the vote would be,” Elsberry said.
She said the School System hopes to secure money for projects at both Lincoln and Munford in the summer and possibly start work on projects in the fall.
The tax is not a new one, but it will continue the 5-mill property tax passed by voters in the Lincoln and Munford school districts in 1999. The tax was set to expire in 2016, but now will expire in 2038.
Information released by the Talladega County School System said the average homeowner would continue to pay around $25 more in taxes a year.
Jean Burk, chairwoman for the steering committee in support of the tax for Lincoln, said the money would be used for adding classrooms at the elementary, middle and high schools and for building a new library at the elementary school.
Gary Carter, chairman for the steering committee in support of the tax in Munford, said the money likely would go to new athletic facilities for the Munford schools.
Money raised by the tax will go only to the school in the school district where the tax is paid.
