No one likes paying higher taxes, but come November, Hillsborough County voters will be asked to pay for not just one tax increase, but two.
Tuesday, Superintendent Jeff Eakins held a town hall meeting at South Tampa Fellowship Church in Ballast Point to talk about the November 6 education referendum.
It’s one of several town halls Eakins is hosting throughout the county to inform voters about the district’s needs and benefits of a half-penny sales tax increase.
Hillsborough County Schools has been in dire straits for years. The problem is it’s not getting money needed from the state, which is why leaders are turning to voters.
They say a half-cent tax hike would cost a typical family $63 a year.
Eakins says this will help the district pay for replacing or repairing air conditioning units, construction of new schools, renovations, maintenance, security and technology.
The district says it has put off these projects because they haven’t had any money. Their entire budget is determined by the state Legislature and they don’t have any power to raise property taxes. So, the only hope for the district is for voters to approve a tax increase.
Parent Kim Klace says she’ll be voting for it.
“In order to maintain our schools, and some of the beautiful buildings, and the needs we have around security, we’ve got to have some more funding,” Klace said. “My child sat in a class at Roosevelt Elementary School last year for three weeks without air conditioning. These are old buildings. They are going to have to be maintained. The money has to come from somewhere.”
Tom Dusold has a child attending school at Robinson High School and says he has several concerns with paying more when his kids won’t see the benefits.
“We need to fix the schools that we have. If they want to build more houses and expand into the southern part of the county, then the developers that are down there, the people who are going to be moving into those communities, let them foot the bill for the new schools,” Dusold said.
The district reports the half-penny sales tax would generate $131 million per year for 10 years. The estimated cost of $63 a year for a typical family is based on the Hillsborough County median household income of $51,681. A portion would be paid by tourists.
Here's the catch, a citizens group called Transportation For All is also asking voters to approve a separate tax hike to pay for roads, busses and other transportation needs.
If both are approved, it would raise the sales tax in Hillsborough county from 7 percent to 8.5 percent.
Ultimately the decision will be up to you.
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