St. Johns County School Board to vote on 10-year sales tax

The St. Johns County School Board is expected to vote tonight on a resolution to put a 10-year, 1/2 cent sales tax increase on a ballot in November.

The details of the possible tax are spelled out in a resolution draft that was finished on Monday afternoon.

Among other items in the draft, it requires the School Board to appoint a citizen advisory committee to monitor and advise the board on spending sales tax revenue. The ballot language also provides for a list of critical projects before the November vote.

Tim Forson, deputy superintendent for operations, said officials are working on the list along with the budget process for the next school year.

The funds could be "used exclusively for new construction, reconstruction and improvement of school facilities, including safety and security improvements and technology upgrades," according to ballot language.

If passed, the resolution will go to the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners for approval to be placed on a ballot for St. Johns County voters to decide. The county attorney said previously that the County Commission's role is ministerial, and under Florida statute the commission does not have discretion on the vote.

However, commissioners in Clay County in 2014 voted to delay a School Board measure on whether the superintendent should be elected or appointed, and that had similar language in the law requiring the commission to place the item on a ballot. But the Clay County Commission lost that battle after the School Board filed a lawsuit.

The current sales tax rate in the county is 6 percent. The proposal is to raise the tax by a half-cent on each dollar.

The referendum would be done at a special election under the current resolution, costing taxpayers about $200,000.

School Board members have voiced support for the special election, saying that funds are needed in 2016 and a special election would provide for that.

Under the resolution, the School Board would pay for the special election if the tax question is on the ballot alone. But if other governmental entities have initiatives on the special election ballot, the board would share the cost.

Bev Slough, School Board chair, said the School District's capital funding has been limited by the legislature, and the district is growing and can't use operational funding for capital needs.

"So we are at a place of critical need," Slough said.

The resolution says that the school district has grown more than 44 percent, or by more than 10,400 students, over the past 10 years. The School District expects more than 15,800 students in the next 10 years, and "Additional funding is needed to construct school facilities to accommodate the increase in student enrollment," according to the resolution.

Building a new school would cost more than the estimated $13 million in sales tax revenue expected per year under the 1/2-cent increase.

Building an elementary school costs about $20 million, and a high school costs between $65 and $70 million, Michael Degutis, School District chief financial officer, said previously.

However, Slough said a sales tax will open up the district's ability to borrow more money to help build new schools.