In Manatee County, the sales tax that gives millions every year to local schools will be expiring soon.
If voters do not approve it again, this could mean bad news for the district.
“We are not broke, we’re not going to be broke, but we are going to have a continued funding gap that will either have to be met through new revenue or continued decreases in services and staff,” said Don Hall, Deputy Superintendent of Operations at Manatee County Schools.
Hall, spoke to school board members on Tuesday about the district’s long term financial situation.
In 2017, the sales tax that gives $30-million a year to the district expires. Hall said without this and other revenue enhancements, like the mileage rate and impact fees, the district will struggle financially. He this could lead to cuts in services and staff.
At the meeting, he and Chief Financial Officer, Rebecca Roberts, explained the district is expecting an increase of students over the next five years.
They said this means teachers will need to be hired and more schools will need to be built.
“Our team believed we are going to have to build new schools in 2018 and 2019, at least three schools,” said Roberts.
In addition to supporting the growth, the district is hoping to pay off their outstanding debt from years ago.
District leaders say if they have the community’s support, they’ll be able to accomplish this. The sales tax expires in 2017.
Voters will determine whether or not it stays in this November’s election.
The district is planning on hiring a company to conduct a study to determine where the new schools need to be built, where new school boundaries should be, and what if any, schools should be closed.