FORSYTH, Ga. — Monroe County voters will decide in November whether to approve nearly $100 million in spending for a new high school as the district struggles with overcrowding at every school building.

The Nov. 4 referendum asks voters to renew a 1% sales tax that has funded school construction since 1999 and authorize up to $96.5 million in bonds to build a new Mary Persons High School.

"We've experienced a lot of enrollment growth here in Monroe County in the last 5 years, to the point that we're at our overcapacity in every building that we have, specifically at KB Sutton Elementary and at our middle school here," Superintendent Jim Finch said.

The proposed high school would cost between $95 million and $100 million, with the state contributing an estimated $12 million to $14 mil

See Full Page