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Martin County School Board asking for more taxpayer money

Posted at 10:00 PM, Sep 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-05 04:33:54-04

One local school district is asking for more taxpayer money to fix more problems. 

The Martin County School Board wants residents to pay more in sales tax to cover a growing list of issues. 

In April, the school board decided to put a question on the November ballot asking for a half-cent per dollar school sales surtax.

The school board projects the increase would bring in $16 million a year of a seven-year period. 

In the August primary, voters approved a property tax increase to improve teacher's pay. But this sales tax money would be used for facility upgrades and security improvements. 

"We can't fund that all in one year with the money we have in the capital account right now with the millage that we do collect," Christia Li Roberts, School Board Chair said. "So, the only way we can get this done in a very short amount of time is by doing something like this." 

The school board voted to start the tax on Jan. 1, 2019, instead of Feb. 1, 2019, at Tuesday's emergency meeting.