In a move echoing what’s happening in Duval County, the Clay County School Board wants to ask voters to approve a half-cent sales tax.
The board approved the resolution in a 3-2 vote/
The resolution has now been sent to Clay County Commission, which will be asked to put the referendum before voters by the end of this year. The county's Supervisor of Elections office also received a copy.
"Our Supervisor of Elections has stated he would like to have this election in early October. And he’s already reaching out to poll workers to set up a schedule and locations," said board member Janice Kerekes.
The Clay County Commission is expected to approve the special election request at its July 9 meeting.
The school board says it needs more than $600 million dollars to make much-needed improvements.
Green Cove Springs Vice-Mayor Van Royal favors the proposed tax.
“It’s the upgrades that have to be in order for our children to feel confident in their next step in life. And I think we do a good job, but I think the half-cent sales tax would give us an opportunity to do a great job,” said Royal.
The proposed half-cent tax would raise around $403 million over 30 years, according to the board’s estimates.
The $180,000 tab for the special election would be paid by the school system.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
