MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Marion County commissioners have pushed forward a resolution from the school board for a half-cent sales tax to appear on the general election ballot.
By a unanimous vote Tuesday, the commission sent the referendum question to the supervisor of elections office.
According to the ballot language, the measure is designed to retain high-quality teachers, reduce classroom overcrowding, and improve safety and security by expanding, constructing, and improving school facilities.
If approved by voters, the half-cent sales tax would be in place for 10 years.
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Tuesday’s vote came after the superintendent of Marion County Public Schools confirmed her district is in a crisis as it deals with aging schools and record growth.
“It’s not to be overly dramatic. When you look at the data, the growth and our facilities. When you have about half our facilities are over 50 years old, the cost of maintenance continues to climb,” said Dr. Diane Gullet, superintendent of Marion County Schools.
News 6 investigated and discovered 80% of Marion County’s school maintenance requests do not get fixed because the district does not have the $840 million to do it. Some of the maintenance money used to come Public Education Capital Outlay funds, also known as PECO. The dollars came from fees from telephone landlines, but the state stopped distributing the money to the district in 2019.
If approved, the impact fees will help handle growth and build new schools and wings. According to school leaders, only five new schools have been built in Marion County since the first iPhone was released in 2007. Now, the district is seeing record enrollment. Its student population grew by 9% in the last decade.
The referendum question for the half-cent sales tax will be decided by voters during the Nov. 5 general election.
In 2022, Marion County voters renewed a one-mill tax for schools, but that money wasn’t for capital outlay. That tax is meant for things like school safety, teacher and staff pay and retention, and reading, physical education, art, music, library/media and vocational programs.
The money has to be used for what it was intended, not for building expenses.
The one-mill tax expires in 2027.
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