What are the needs? Why do you need to continue this tax?
An extensive Facilities Condition Assessment determined that OCPS has more than $2 billion in unmet facility needs over the next decade. By the time the sales tax sunsets, we’ll have 39 schools left to be renovated from the 2002 list and another 20 that were not on the list of 136 schools.
Are you asking to do what you did on the first tax or are you asking for something more or different? Why?
We’re asking essentially the same thing. The one difference is using some of the funds on technology in our schools. That’s critical to preparing our students to compete at the global level because that’s how the workplace operates today. Some money from the 2002 initiative was used for technology in that it’s part of the infrastructure in our newer schools. Because we’re using computers and digital projectors, the school facilities must be able to support those things. Adequate electrical supply, fiber optic backbone and wireless drops are now part of school design. However, we’re considering using some proceeds from a sales tax extension on devices which will require retrofitting some schools to implement this technology.
How much has the 2002 tax raised?
$1,658,917,189 through the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013. The current estimate is that $2.1B will be raised.
What did Orange County taxpayers get for that amount?
We will have renovated or replaced 94 schools on the list of 136 with proceeds from the 2002 sales tax. We also built one new school -- Wekiva HS, with sales tax proceeds. Another 43 brand new relief schools will have been built since 2002. These schools are built with other funds.
What other funds are used for school construction?
A state-required portion of your property taxes (1.5 mils) and impact fees on new construction are the main sources of funding for relief schools. There are other small federal and state sources, but these constitute a fraction of available funding.
Why won’t all 136 schools be completed?
The big factors were the downturn in the economy and the Class Size Amendment. The passage of the Constitutional Class Size Amendment created an unfunded need of approximately $600 million. The economic downturn is expected to cause total collections to be approximately $600 million short of original estimates.
Are you going to reprioritize the unfinished schools on the "136 list?"
The school board has decided to stick with the order of the remaining schools.
Do you really need new schools? Hasn’t growth slowed enough that you can make do with what you have and add portables?
During the economic downturn we all saw the stories about Florida actually losing people. That wasn’t the case in Orange County. Even though our explosive growth slowed to a trickle, it still meant more students. During the 2012-2013 school year we welcomed 2,000 new students. That’s equivalent to more than two new elementary schools or one and a half middle schools. For the 2013-2014 school year, we’ve added another 3,000 students. So yes, we need these schools.
How many vacant seats are in the district? Why not rezone the district to maximize capacity?
We are doing some of that by allowing voluntary transfers from overcrowded schools to under-capacity schools. However, even with voluntary transfers our schools are overcrowded and with a few thousand new students per year, it will only get worse if we don’t act now. On October 15, 2013 for traditional schools, the number of students enrolled was 5,126 over the district’s capacity.