By Melissa Byrd, Orange County Public School Board Member/District 7
Do you remember what our schools used to look like?
I do.
My daughters attended Clay Springs Elementary before it was rebuilt with the half-cent sales tax money. The old school was made up of one main building that housed the offices and cafeteria.
All of the classrooms were portable-type buildings with covered outdoor walkways. With all the classrooms accessible from the outside, it was not secure from outside threats and severe weather would make for really wet children.
Frankly, I don’t want to get to the point where our children’s safety and health are in jeopardy because we don’t have funding to improve and update our schools.
This Election Day, November 5th, the Orange County School Board is asking voters whether to continue the current half-cent sales tax for school construction and renovation for another 10 years.
Prior to the half-cent sales tax in 2002, many of Orange County’s public schools were outdated and in disrepair.
For example, The average age of schools back then was 33 years, and OCPS had more than 3,000 portable classrooms because the district was unable to keep up with explosive growth.
Since 2002, the sales tax has helped fund the renovation or replacement of 136 schools, reducing portables by 75 percent. The average age of OCPS schools is now 13 years!
However, it is critical to maintain these newer facilities. For example, new schools built at the beginning of the sales tax are now due for new roofs and other crucial systems like air conditioning.
In fact, 75 of our schools will be at least 25 years old in 10 years and will require an estimated $8.9 billion dollars to update. Without continuation of the half-cent sales tax, the district will be short $4 billion for construction and maintenance needs.
More than 50 percent of our sales tax revenue is paid by tourists and non-residents, not by Orange County residents. Additionally, for every dollar invested in our building program, the impact to the Central Florida economy is nearly double.
Since 2010, OCPS has spent $2.6 billion on school construction, but the total impact to the economy has been $4.1 billion. On average these projects have created or maintained 1,850 jobs per year.
It is also important for citizens to know that sales tax referendums by school districts are required to be used for capital needs only. These funds can not be used for operational costs, like salaries.
This important issue is the last item on the November ballot. The November ballot will be a long one with several questions for voters at the end. Please don’t forget to answer this important question at the very end of your ballot!
A ‘for’ vote would continue an existing, crucial source of funding for school construction, renovation, and technology, including improvements for safety and security. A vote ‘against’ would delay needed new campuses, put off necessary repairs to existing schools and return OCPS to a greater reliance on portable classrooms.
For additional information, I encourage you to visit youdecide.ocps.net.
