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Hillsborough School Board Approves Sales Tax Referendum

Hillsborough County Public Schools

Members of the Hillsborough County School Board voted Friday to add a new tax referendum to November's ballot.

The proposed half-cent sales tax will go directly toward air conditioning replacement, new school construction and renovation of existing schools, said Tanya Arja, spokeswoman for the school district.

"There's just a lot of needs in Hillsborough County Schools, we have a billion dollars in deferred maintenance, we have a billion dollars needed for growth," said Arja.

The School Board voted 5-2 to include the referendum in the November 6 General Election, with a ten-year levy to start in January of 2020.

With this vote, there will now be two tax referendums on the ballot. A local group is asking for a 1-cent sales tax to help with transportation needs.

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Bethany Hanson is a WUSF/USF Zimmerman School digital news reporter for spring 2018.