Voters to decide on sales-tax extension

Voters at the Aug. 26 primary election, as well as early and absentee-ballot voters, will determine whether to renew the local-option, half penny sales tax that pays the bulk of the cost of Orange County Public Schools’ construction, renovation and technology upgrade projects.

The original, voter-approved half penny tax began in 2003 and is set to expire in 2015 unless voters approve its renewal. If the ballot measure passes, the tax would remain in place for 10 more years to 2025.

Orange County’s sales tax rate is 6.5%. It consists of the Florida general sales tax rate of 6%, plus the .5% from the half penny sales tax.

Since 2003, revenue from the half penny tax has paid for the renovation or rebuilding of 94 schools. And by the end of 2015, it will have created more than 81,000 jobs and contributed more than $3 billion to the local economy. That’s according to data from Lynetta Tipton Steed, chairman of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, which strongly supports renewing the tax.

Many of the schools that have benefited from the tax are West Orange schools, such as Dr. Phillips and Evans high schools; Ocoee, MetroWest, Palm Lake and Windermere elementary schools; and Gotha Middle School, Steed said.

Extending the life of the tax by 10 years would provide $2 billion dollars to pay for renovating 59 schools and building four new relief schools, as well as for technology upgrades, according to Steed. She said West Orange schools that would benefit include Westside Tech, Maxey and Oak Hill elementary schools and Lakeview and Southwest middle schools.

Schools that have benefited from the tax and those that still need help are listed at change4kids.net/schools/.

The Change 4 Kids organization, in Orlando, is one of the tax’s biggest supporters. This bipartisan group was formed in 2002 after six referendum efforts had failed to generate some level of taxation to support public schools, according to the group’s website. Orlando businessman and former state Rep. Dick Batchelor volunteered to create and lead Change 4 Kids, which ultimately garnered the support to pass the referendum with nearly 60 percent of the vote, the site stated.

During the last year or so, OCPS officials have made an extensive look to identify $2.3 billion in school construction, renovation and technology upgrade needs, Change 4 Kids spokeswoman Dana Loncar said.

“We’ve been out speaking in the community, and we have lots of people supporting it,” Loncar said of the tax renewal. “People have seen the new schools being built and the positive impact [the tax revenue] has had on kids and cities.”

She said the local-option sales tax can only be used on the school district’s capital needs.

Property tax funds can be used for construction and operation costs, but they “don’t come near to meeting the needs of the schools,” Loncar said. “If [the tax extension] doesn’t pass, we’re looking at 59 schools that will not have a funding source for their construction, renovation and technology upgrades.”

Florida’s counties are permitted by state law to levy up to 1.5% worth of local taxes on top of the 6% state amount, said Morgan McCord, communications coordinator for the Tallahassee-based Florida TaxWatch. TaxWatch bills itself as an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit taxpayer research institute and government watchdog.

Dominic M. Calabro, TaxWatch’s president and CEO, said the organization has not studied Orange County’s half penny tax issue and does not have a position for or against it.

However, “The first thing the [Orange County] community has to ask is what has been accomplished” with the money the tax has provided since 2003, Calabro said. “What were voters promised, what was accomplished and how well was it accomplished? No one expects government to bat 1,000, but you certainly want to bat pretty high. Orange County Public Schools has the fiduciary responsibility to spend the money as if it was their own.”

He added that Florida’s 2002 constitutional amendment that reduced public schools’ class sizes put more pressure on voters to approve the half penny tax in order to pay for school expansions and relief schools.

According to a March 2014 TaxWatch report, “To implement the constitutional amendment, the Florida Legislature has appropriated more than $27 billion to build the additional classrooms and hire additional teachers” statewide. “Despite this substantial commitment of funds, and the concerted efforts of state and local educators, Florida school districts have struggled to comply with the class size limits.”