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In 2002, Orange County voters approved a half penny sales tax to help fund the renovation or replacement of existing public schools. Thanks to those proceeds, along with other revenue, the OCPS building program completed 94 renovations and 44 new schools by December 2015.

In preparation for the 2002 referendum, the district identified 136 schools needing renovation or replacement. Because of a variety of factors – such as the unanticipated cost of Florida Class Size Amendment, the dramatically increased cost of building materials during the construction boom years, and the steep decline in sales tax collections due to the Great Recession – without extension of the half-penny sales tax, students in 59 Orange County schools (39 from the previous referendum and 20 schools built prior to 2002) would not have received the facility renovations, technology upgrades and security enhancements they deserved.

In 2014 voters went to the polls to approve a referendum to renew the half-penny sales tax, the funding went towards the much needed renovations to Orange County Public Schools. Thank you to all those who voted!

Citizen Oversight
The 2002 sales tax referendum required the Citizens’ Construction Oversight and Value Engineering (COVE) Committee to review and have input into the OCPS building program. The committee is made up of volunteers with expertise in construction, engineering, architecture, finance and auditing. None of them do business with the district, and the committee is independent of the district.

Working with COVE, the district has developed prototypes for elementary, middle and high schools. As a result, the district won millions of dollars from the state’s SMART Schools Clearinghouse, which recognizes school districts that build high-quality new schools cost-effectively. Subsequent efficiencies in building design and construction processes have saved the district millions of dollars.