ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County is booming, but growth comes with a challenge. For the school district, it’s keeping up with that growth.
At a workshop on Tuesday, the school board spent time discussing what their facilities need now and what capital projects are priorities for the future. It’s a topic News 6 has been covering for months now as the district gets ready to ask voters to renew a half-cent sales tax in November.
Since 2002, the half-cent sales tax has contributed millions of dollars in funding for new schools and campus improvements. In 2014, voters decided to extend it once again, but the current tax is set to expire at the end of 2025.
In February, the chief facilities officer for Orange County Public Schools gave News 6 investigators a tour of the district’s oldest school, Howard Middle School. The building is 97 years old and is undergoing a renovation. The much-needed upgrades include new lighting, seating and finishes in the auditorium.
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It’s projects like the renovation at Howard that are paid for with the help of the half-cent sales tax.
District officials estimate once the existing tax sunsets, the funding could be exhausted in 2029.
“My heart kind of jumps at the thought of what that could mean,” said Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez.
Dr. Vazquez claimed the continuation of the half-penny tax is needed to maintain facilities and keep up with growth in Orange County.
“Sometimes it’s hard for our community to remember way back when we did not have that,” Vazquez stated. “The maintenance issues, the air conditioning, the roofs; all of those things we weren’t able to keep up with because the dollars weren’t there from the state.”
Funding from state resources makes up only a fraction of the district’s total revenue stream for capital projects. Property taxes and impact fees also contribute, but district leaders argue they are not enough on their own.
Tuesday, the board was presented with a facilities plan for the future — essentially how much they would need in their bank account to address all of the estimated costs through fiscal year 2034. The estimated total is $8.9 billion.
If the half-cent sales tax is not extended, more than $1 billion worth of maintenance projects could go unfunded.
“I believe that our voters will appreciate that we have been good stewards of our dollar, and they will come back and continue to support OCPS,” Vazquez said.
Orange County Commissioners gave their stamp of approval Tuesday morning, and unanimously approved the half-cent sales tax referendum for the November ballot.
A ‘for’ vote would keep the current rate in place, without any increase. The school district says an ‘against’ vote would delay new schools and campus improvements, and force OCPS to rely more on portable classrooms.
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