How much is a penny worth to the DeKalb County School Board? If a new sales tax is approved this November, it will be worth at least $475 million. According to the Dunwoody Reporter, the school board will ask voters to approve a five-year penny sales tax to help pay for building and operations projects.

If the tax is approved, DeKalb County would replace a total of seven schools, including Austin Elementary. According to a study commissioned by the local school board, the elementary school tied for the worst scores (32 out of 100) in the county for facilities, technology and suitability.

Although Austin Elementary accounts for the largest appropriation on the list of projects, most other schools in the area would receive regular capital improvements – heating, air conditioning, roofing, etc.

If approved, the new SPLOST would run from 2012 to 2017 and generate an estimated $475 million for schools in the area. The penny increase would also affect Decatur and the city of Atlanta in DeKalb, with those funds going to local schools in those areas.

Although the tax would help the DeKalb County School Board, it faces competition from other sources. Among them is a proposed property tax increase and a regional penny tax to fund transportation projects (scheduled for a metro-area vote in 2012.) According to one DeKalb School Board member, at least one of these taxes has to fail because voters won’t support all of them.

So what do you think? If you live in DeKalb County, how will you vote on this new proposed sales tax? How much is a penny worth to you?