The Hillsborough County school tax on the Nov. 6 ballot is a smart, necessary investment in the nation’s eighth-largest school system. The 10-year, half-penny sales tax would create stronger, safer schools and a healthier learning environment for more than 215,000 children. Yet wavering voters are struggling with reasonable questions.

Why should voters without children in the school system pay more? Why should local taxpayers get state lawmakers off the hook for repairs that should be funded from Tallahassee? Can the school system be trusted? These are relevant concerns influencing the decision for many voters. Here are some answers.

I don’t have kids in the system, so why should I pay? Every parent or grandparent has probably heard the horror stories. A crisis with the district’s air conditioning systems has forced students and teachers to go home sick, damaged classrooms and destroyed equipment. With temperatures pushing into the 90s, students and staff alike suffered in classrooms – sweating, distracted, annoyed. The environment is unhealthy; the situation is unsustainable. In the first nine days of this school year, a staggering 1,533 requests poured in to fix air conditioners, temporary chillers, water fountains and water cooling units. And as bad as the air conditioning systems are, they are only one sign of the wear and tear across 230 schools from a billion-dollar backlog in maintenance.

Parents obviously have a vested stake in ensuring classrooms are conducive to learning. But those without children enrolled also are affected by the quality of the local public schools, the single-biggest gateway for children into adulthood. The state of a community’s school system is a leading indicator of its quality of life. Experts point to schools and transportation as the top two considerations for newcomers and businesses looking to relocate. Quality schools produce a talented workforce for local employers in an ever-evolving economy. Schools define their neighborhoods, affecting the real estate and retail markets. School facilities also perform vital public services across the growing region – acting as hurricane shelters and hosting major athletic and cultural events. Maintaining public assets worth billions of dollars that help drive the economy only makes sense.

Isn’t this a state responsibility? It is – but the governor and Legislature have failed for years to adequately fund education, and local communities are being forced to act. Already, nineteen of Florida’s 67 counties levy an additional half-cent sales tax for school capital needs, while others – including Pinellas – have committed additional property taxes for school operations. Voters have embraced public education as a priority even if their elected state leaders have not.

This plan gets money into the pipeline quickly to address the biggest needs, from air conditioners to roofs. And its 10-year timeline gives voters a chance to make immediate fixes as they elect new lawmakers at the state level. For Hillsborough alone, the state’s reduction in capital money for buildings and equipment has cost $407 million over the past decade.

How can we trust the school district? The plan is clearly aimed at specific projects the district has wanted to tackle for years. Virtually all of the money goes to deferred maintenance – not for building new schools. Of the $131 million raised annually, about half would go for air conditioning systems. The second-biggest chunk would pay for roofs. At least $500,000 would be spent on every campus – for everything from flooring and plumbing to fire alarms and new electric systems. A school-by-school list of projects is available at sdhc.k12.fl.us.

The plan spreads the money fairly, in a transparent way, to longstanding needs. Strict rules limit the ability of privately run charter schools to tap the fund. And an independent oversight committee would ensure the money is spent appropriately. Under state law, all records and meetings involved with this program are open to the public. Voters can also hold the seven-member, locally elected School Board accountable for keeping the projects, spending and timetable on track.

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“This tax would help to provide our students with a suitable and productive learning environment, as part of a long-term sustainable plan for the Hillsborough County School District,” says a statement from the business organization.

“In alignment with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce’s guiding principle on workforce development, our business community is committed to partnering with stakeholders and policy makers to advocate for adequate resources to help recruit, develop, and retain talent in Hillsborough County. This initiative requires support from multiple funding sources and elected officials, and to help satisfy those critical funding needs the Chamber supports the education referendum.”

The Tampa Bay Times highlighted the state legislature’s failure to properly fund public schools for years. The chronic lack of sufficient funding has led to deferred maintenance and crowded schools.

Broken air conditioners, leaky roofs, lead in the drinking water – the schools are crumbling, and there is not nearly enough money to repair them or build new ones. As the state abdicates its responsibility to adequately fund public education, the only viable option is for Hillsborough voters to step up and approve a half-penny sales tax increase so kids can learn and teachers can teach in decent learning environments.

They felt that the district rushed the issue and the vote to put the referendum on the ballot. However, they acknowledged the desperate need for funds in order to fill the gap left by chronic under-funding from the state.

But the flawed process should not detract from the core issue at hand – the district’s undeniable inability to repair and maintain its schools without a significant new revenue source. This is another state responsibility that has fallen to local government. Nineteen of Florida’s 67 counties already levy an additional half-cent sales tax for school capital needs, while others – including Pinellas – have committed additional property taxes for school operations. Voters have wisely embraced public education as a priority even if their elected state leaders have not.

The Times noted the guardrails that will govern the funds should voters pass the referendum in November. They respect the governance process and trust the district’s plan for repairs and deferred maintenance.

The 10-year tax is targeted to fill an immediate funding gap as the district pays down existing debt. That buys time for critical repairs until the district can free up tens of millions of dollars now going to mortgage payments. Fittingly, 85 percent of this tax would go for deferred maintenance – not new schools. Strict rules would limit the ability of privately run charter schools to tap the fund. And an independent oversight committee would meet publicly to ensure the money is spent as promised. That panel would be chaired by Betty Castor, the widely respected former legislator, state education commissioner and University of South Florida president. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister would serve as vice-chair.

Learn more about the Hillsborough Schools Referendum here.

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September 24, 6 p.m. at Plant City High School, One Raider Place, Plant City
September 26, 7 p.m. at Grady Elementary School, 3910 W Morrison Ave., Tampa
October 1, 7 p.m. at Wharton High School, 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa
October 3, 7 p.m. at Westchase Recreation Center, 9791 Westchase Dr., Tampa
October 4, 7 p.m. at Pizzo K-6 School, 11701 USF Bull Run Dr., Tampa
October 9, 7 p.m. at Jackson Springs Recreation Center, 8620 Jackson Springs Rd., Tampa
October 11, 7 p.m. at Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church, 2902 W. Fletcher Ave., Tampa
October 15, 7 p.m. at Middleton High School, 4801 N. 22nd St., Tampa
October 23, 7 p.m. at The Chapel at FishHawk, 6026 Churchside Dr., Lithia

The Tampa Bay Times recorded a Facebook Live video of a town hall. View the event here.

Learn more about the Hillsborough Schools Referendum here.

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But board member Cindy Stuart put forth a forceful argument that the issue should not be education vs. transportation. It’s about what the school district is willing to do to get the money it needs to fix its aging buildings, she told her colleagues.

“Now lead. Now radon. … What’s next?” Stuart said, referring to some of the district’s infrastructure problems.  “We have old buildings. What is next?”

She urged the board to place the referendum before voters in November, and, if that fails, again in March 2019. At worst, Stuart said, the vote fails and the district remains as it is.

“I am not sure what we are waiting for,” she said. “Let the voters decide whether they want to pay for air conditioning.”

Board members and stakeholders pledged to support the referendum. Stephanie Baxter-Jenkins, Executive Director of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association noted that although Hillsborough’s schools are historic and beautiful, they need repairs and maintenance. School board members who voted against putting the referendum on the November ballot still support the measure:

Both Griffin and Snively said they would back the referendum, even though they opposed holding it in November. Snively said she simply believed the district needed to take more time to get its house in order, to convince voters it can be trusted with more tax dollars.

“They’re starting to open up to the possibility,” she said after the session. “At the end of the day, Ms. Stuart is right. It’s about the students. It kills me we don’t have our house in order, and our students are the ones who are suffering.”

Superintendent Jeff Eakins took no stance on the timing of the referendum, though he did urge caution to ensure it does better than simply getting on the ballot. He did tell the board that he has worked diligently to get the “house in order,” both financially and academically.

The district has reduced 1,900 positions since 2015, he said, while also renegotiating contracts, selling surplus real estate and taking other steps to increase efficiency while building up reserves and driving down debt.

Yet revenue has not kept up with what Eakins called the 3B’s — $1 billion in outstanding mortgages, $1 billion in deferred maintenance and $1 billion in capacity for growth.

“We don’t have the revenue coming in to tackle the issues,” Eakins said.

That’s why the list of projects for the anticipated $131 million in annual sales tax income is clear, he said.

To learn more about the referendum, visit all4schools.org/referendum.

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Social media sites are flush with photographs of thermostats showing temperatures of 87 and 88 degrees in classrooms at a number of Hillsborough schools — new and old, high-achieving and under-performing, affluent and low-income.

Christine Brady Corum saw so many posts about sweaty students on the Fishhawk Area Neighborhood Facebook page that she began purchasing box fans for Randall Elementary School and launched a community-wide fundraiser. Broken air conditioners fueled an attack ad last week from state Senate hopeful Janet Cruz, who stood outside Coleman Middle School to accuse opponent Dana Young of voting for legislation that has cut $1.3 billion to public schools.

Making the problem worse: Heightened security measures means teachers can no longer open windows or doors to air out sauna-like classrooms…

The breakdowns were expected. Eakins said at a back-to-school news conference that fixing every problematic unit would cost an estimated $340 million — money he said the state is unwilling to provide.

“I have to be honest with you,’’ he said two weeks ago. “There are going to be times this year when those air conditioners are going to break.”

Records obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show that 52 percent of the Hillsborough schools reported air conditioning problems at the beginning of the school year.

The problem has only grown worse. A staggering 1,533 requests were made in the first nine days of the school year to fix air conditioners, temporary chillers, water fountains and water cooling units, according to a district spreadsheet obtained by the Times.

Records show report after report of disrupted class time, destroyed equipment, damaged classrooms and conditions that affected the well-being of students and staff alike…

Leaks from broken AC units led at least 11 schools to suffer severe damage, such as flooding in classrooms, cafeterias, and “technical rooms” filled with wiring and costly computer equipment.

The moisture and humidity also caused paint to peel from walls, band uniforms to turn musty from mildew, musical instruments to break and rust and caused cameras, computers and other electronics to stop functioning entirely.

The state legislature has cut funding to schools- especially for capital improvements- year after year. The district’s infrastructure issues led the School Board to approve putting a 10-year, half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 6 ballot. Voters will be asked to levy a local referendum to generate $131 million a year to repair old schools, build new ones and upgrade technology.

To learn more about the referendum, click here.

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