The Fayette County Board of Education on June 5 got a look at the potential projects for SPLOST III that could be up for a vote in November.

The current SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) expires in 2019. The school board is considering holding a referendum for SPLOST III in November.

The school board will consider 51 projects spanning seven categories. The current estimated cost of the projects is $157.2 million. Those categories with potential project amounts include:

• Facilities additions, renovations and improvements — $86.91 million
• Technology equipment, devices and infrastructure — $45 million
• Safety and security equipment — $3 million
• Furniture and equipment — $11.25 million
• Textbooks/instructional materials — $6 million
• Transportation equipment — to be determined
• Debt service — $5 million

Work on fine-tuning the categories and their components will likely continue. The complete list of projects will be presented to the school board for approval in the coming weeks.

An advantage of holding the SPLOST III vote this year is that, if it fails, the school board will be able to put the measure to a public vote again in 2018.