Should the school board tax citizens for school repairs?

School board wants half-cent tax on ballot; if approved by voters, could generate more than $2 million a year for Gadsden schools

Last week, Gadsden County School Board passed a resolution to send half-cent sales tax to the voters to decide in the November General Election.

The resolution passed 4-to-1 among the school board members and must be sent to the Gadsden County Supervisor of Elections before getting put on the ballot.

If approved by voters, the tax would be in place for 15 years.

According to a report prepared by Interim Finance Director LaClarence Mays and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Sylvia Jackson it is anticipated that surtax will generate approximately $2,358,751 each year for the school district.

“For the three years that the school is being built all funding related to capital outlay is taken from the district or not given to the district so we’re resorting back to general fund money or things of that nature,” Superintendent Elijah Key explained to the school board members during a meeting held on March 22.

He said the district also has schools that are in bad condition that have not been renovated

“There’s no money that’s coming from the state that’s helping us renovate those buildings,” Key added.

He said the funds would also be used to address some safety issues.

For instance, Key said at least one of the schools use the City of Quincy’s baseball field.

“That field has been there for almost 20 years and [has] no facilities, no lights, nothing has been done there,” Key said. “That’s a $300,000 cost just to do the baseball field.”

Key also pointed out that Havana Magnet School was built in the mid 90s and is in need of updates.

“There’s no light on the football field; there’s no handicap accessibility to the football field,” Key said. “We have games there – people have to walk down the hill. To get steps, to make it handicap accessible, to [install] lights, is going to cost money.”

He said there’s also a flooding issue at the magnet school, which needs to be handled.

Key said a Havana Magnet game was moved to Gadsden County High School last year because the field was too wet to play on.

“We don’t want to get into a situation 15 years from now where nothing has been done at Gadsden County High School, nothing has been done at West Gadsden, nothing has been done at Havana Magnet - which is one of the schools we’re talking about holding on to,” Key said.

Key also said there is work that needs to be done at Chattahoochee Elementary School, but there’s no funding from the state to do anything with those buildings.

Key says people often compare Gadsden schools to Leon County schools - and Key says Leon County has a half-cent sales tax to help improve its schools.

“Every time I go to Leon County, I’m helping to renovate, remodel, build football fields and everything else they’re doing because I pay a half-cent sales tax every time I go over there,” said Key.”

Schoolboard member Steve Scott said he is usually against taxes, but they are a ‘necessary evil’ in this case; he also said the district has to have money to maintain its school buildings.

“All we have to do is visit any of the schools and recognize there is a need, a great need, and we’ve been in the position of not having the funding to be able to do what is necessary, what we needed to, because we haven’t had any revenue source other than state,” Scott said.

Scott also said he recently read the state legislature’s budget summary and the funding allocated for facility maintenance for K-12 schools caught his attention.

In the capital outlay plan for state funding, charter schools would get the largest portion of funding, at $195.8 million, with public schools being allocated $11.4 million for repairs and maintenance, and then development research Schools getting the smallest portion, at $8.1 million.

“You see the discrepancy, the hypocrisy here,” Scott said. “From 195.8 given to charter schools to repair and maintain as opposed to public school maintenance $11.4 million.”

Scott pointed out there are only three development research schools in the state: Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University Developmental Research School, Florida State University Schools and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School at the University of Florida.

“They’re entitled $8.1 million - those three schools - while at the same time all public school maintenance for a 67-school district will divide $11.4 million,” said Scott. “Now if that doesn’t decry a need for revenue and a funding source, then I don’t know what does, because obviously the state legislature is turning their back on the schools when it comes to repairing and maintenance.”

Scott also said it’s important for the citizens to know the half-cent sales tax will target exactly what Gadsden schools need - the revenue will not go to salaries or anything else.

He said it will strictly be used to improve and maintain the school district’s facilities.

Scott also said the citizens get to decide, by voting, if they want it or not.

Out of Florida’s 67 counties at least 17 have half-cent tax.

School Board members Scott, Leroy McMillan, Charlie D. Frost, and Karema Dudley voted in favor of sending the half-cent tax to the November ballot for voters to decide on. Cathy Johnson provided the lone dissenting vote.

The members of the board said they will hold workshops to educate the community about the tax and how the revenue from it will be utilized before it is time to vote.

Erin Hill - erin@gadsdencountytimes.com

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