Dr. Jeff Bearden

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – It’s Election Day. Today citizens of the City of Cumming will choose their next mayor. But most eyes in the county will be on the $300 million education special purpose local option sales tax (ESPLOST) vote where angry citizens opposed to what they believe to be divisive social initiatives being taught in the county’s schools have threatened to defeat the tax.

In the mayor’s race, incumbent first-term Mayor Troy Brumbalow faces a challenge from attorney William Allen Stone III.

The current five-year SPLOST will expire in March 2022 and School Board members have threatened to raise property taxes if it is rejected.

At the heart of the conflict is Critical Race Theory (CRT) a concept that opponents say pits black children against whites and paints whites as the oppressor and blacks as the oppressed, Hundreds of citizens opposed to the ideology have packed the Forsyth County School Board meeting room for months speaking out in opposition. They have committed to defeating the SPLOST.

School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden says CRT is not being taught in county schools. But opponents claim that closely-related ideologies like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) are and they want them banned.  School Board members voted to suspend DEI training last summer. But opponents say Dana Peguero, who was hired as a DEI specialist with a six-figure income is still on staff and they believe if the SPLOST measure passes, DEI training will continue.

Polls open at 7 a.m. today and will remain open until 7 p.m.