GA Code § 20-2-430 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 20 - Education|Chapter 2 - Elementary and Secondary Education|Article 9 - Local Public School Finances|Part 3 - Bond Issues|Subpart 1 - County, District, and Joint High School Bonds|§ 20-2-430. Issuance and Retirement of County Schoolhouse Bonds

 When any county board of education shall deem it to the best interests of education in the county to incur any bonded debt for building, equipping, or purchasing sites for the building and equipping of schoolhouses pursuant to Article IX, Section V, Paragraphs I and IV of the Constitution of Georgia, the election required shall be called and held in the manner prescribed by Article 1 of Chapter 82 of Title 36, and the bonds shall be validated in the manner provided by Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 82 of Title 36. The purpose of this Code section is to permit and require the same procedure to be followed in the voting, issuance, levying of taxes for, and the retirement of bonds issued by county boards for building and equipping schoolhouses or purchasing sites therefor as is required in the case of municipalities and other county bonds; provided, however, that in any such election persons residing within territorial limits of independent school districts may not participate as qualified voters in the election, and should the election result favorably to the issuance of the bonds, the property located within the limits of an independent school district shall not be subject to taxation for the retirement of any bonds so issued.   (Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 145; Ga. L. 1921, p. 221, § 2; Code 1933, § 32-1403; Ga. L. 1946, p. 206, § 23; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 53.)   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL    County education board is proper authority to authorize holding of school bond referendum.  1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-18.   County board may call election even though no petition filed.   - County board of education, if the board sees fit, may call an election to determine whether or not a bonded indebtedness may be incurred by the county to build schoolhouses even though there is no petition filed by the people asking for the election. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 175.   Election and tax levy county-wide.   - County board of education is the proper authority to call an election for the issuance of school bonds and the election and tax levy is county-wide, excluding independent systems located therein. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 168.   General election registration list to be used in schoolhouse bond election.   - Proper registration list to be used in a schoolhouse bond election is the registration list used for the last general election. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 234.   Ballots to be furnished and election managers appointed by county board.   - Ballots in school bond elections shall be furnished and the election managers appointed by the county board of education. 1950-51 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 44.    School bond election called by county board may be held concurrently with the general election.  1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 65-9.   Appropriate use of bond proceeds.   - Georgia Constitution and Georgia statutes do not provide any latitude to use bond proceeds for additional capital expenditures whether or not the proceeds are spent on projects which may have been approved by the voters at the time of the original bond referendum. Accordingly, all proceeds generated at closing of the refunding issue should be spent on costs of the refunding or used to pay principal, interest, and premiums on the refunded debt. Furthermore, a new tax levy appropriately sized to retire the new refunding bonds should be provided for prior to issuance of the refunding bonds. If any excess proceeds result from the new tax levy, such excess proceeds shall not be available for transfer to capital projects until all refunds are repaid. 1994 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 94-8.    Purchase of school buses  cannot be included in listing of acceptable purposes for bond indebtedness because the language of Ga. L. 1946, pp. 206 and 216 circumscribes the incurring of bonded indebtedness by counties for educational purposes to those expenditures related to the actual physical plant of the school. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-94. (But see 1998 Att'y Gen. Op. 98-12).   Construction of school system administration, bus maintenance, bus storage, and warehouse facilities.    - Proceeds of general obligation bonds issued under O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-430 and20-2-431 may not be used for school administration, bus maintenance and bus storage, and warehouse facilities; but bonds may be issued for such purposes upon compliance by the county school board with the notice and purpose requirements set forth in O.C.G.A. § 36-82-1 et seq. 1998 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 98-12.   Commencing school construction prior to voter approval of bond issue not illegal.   - While commencing school construction which is intended to be financed through the sale of school bonds prior to voter approval and validation of the bond issue is questionable from a fiscal viewpoint, it is not illegal. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 789.   School bond issue requires assent of majority of qualified voters.   - School bond issue requires the assent of a simple majority of the qualified voters in the school bond election. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 769.    County school district may issue up to 7 percent of assessed tax value of property  of the county, excluding territory in independent systems, and the county can also issue bonds for a like 7 percent of the assessed tax value. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 166.   When school systems merge.   - It is the general rule that when one school system having a bonded indebtedness is merged with another school system, taxes levied for the purpose of paying off the bonded indebtedness may be levied only on property located within the territorial limits of the school system issuing the bonds as such territorial limits existed at the time the bonds were originally voted and issued. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-11.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   C.J.S.   - 78A C.J.S., Schools and School Districts, §§ 756 et seq., 761, 762, 765 et seq., 773 et seq., 784.   ALR.   - Validity of submission of proposition to voters at bond election as affected by inclusion of several structures or units, 4 A.L.R.2d 617.