With over 91,000 students, Cobb County School District is one of the three largest school districts in Georgia and, growing by more than 3,000 students per year, it is one of the fastest growing districts in the state. Cobb is also the 35th largest district in the United States. Projected trends suggest a student population of 140,000 students by 2010. Today, the district houses more than 8,000 students in 366 portable classrooms.

Cobb County schools received some relief in 1995, when the voters approved a $220,865,000 bond referendum to add eight schools and undertake major renovations, which will yield approximately 858 new classrooms by 2000. Following the 1997 defeat of a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, the school district again is asking voters to raise their sales tax by one cent to fund school construction. Depending on its success, which could generate $511 million, the school district plans to build 2 new high schools, 4 new middle schools, and 12 new elementary schools, as well as renovate many more. If voters turn down the proposal for a second time, the district cannot request the sales tax increase again for two years.

Facing burgeoning student enrollments, an increase of 4,000 students, from 89,210 in 1997 to 93,320 in 1998, DeKalb County School District is in the midst of the largest school construction initiative in its history, fueled by the Local Option Sales Tax. Over a five-year period, ending in 2002, the district will spend nearly $400 million on 11 new schools and several additions and renovations at 120 existing schools.

For the past seven years, Houston County School System has grown at the rate of more than 500 students per year. Enrollment is expected to surpass 20,000 this year, compared to 19,542 just two years ago. Since 1990, three new elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school have been constructed and two more new middle schools are expected to be operational by 2000. Estimates call for growth to continue well into the next century. Meanwhile, overflow students are using 150 trailers as classrooms.

Richmond County School District is Georgia's seventh largest school district and the largest outside the Atlanta metropolitan area. Typical growth is between 700 and 800 students per year, from 35,253 in 1996 to 36,130 in 1997 and to 37,000 in 1998. In FY 1997, the voters passed both a $115 million bond initiative and a Special Purpose Local Option Tax referendum, the funds from which will be used to relieve the bond payments. Construction has already started on a new high school and two new elementary schools, as well as additions and renovations to other area schools.

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