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Stewardship drives joint sales tax idea
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
BROOKSVILLE -- As the School Board explored construction needs and the multimillion-dollar price tag to satisfy them, member Gail David got a quizzical look on her face. "What money are we talking about, anyway?" David asked her colleagues. The answer that all seemed to favor was a renewal of the district's half-cent sales tax, which expires at the end of the year. Revenue from the current incarnation has paid for the $40-million Nature Coast Technical High School, which opens in the fall. Vice chairwoman Sandra Nicholson said Wednesday she has heard favorable responses to talk of another tax, even among people who generally do not support taxes. "People see it as a positive way to pay for growth without going into debt and paying the bank an extra 40 percent for the building," Nicholson said. "I'm getting a lot of positives." The county Council of PTAs has backed the endeavor, chairman John Druzbick noted. The question is not whether the district will ask voters to approve a new sales tax, Druzbick said, but how and when it will do so. "You don't want to do it too early. You don't want to do it too late," he said. "You have to do your timing properly." He tended toward having the election in November 2004, because presidential elections usually have the best turnout. Others said they wanted to have the vote in conjunction with the March presidential primary, to minimize the time between the two taxes. Also at issue is whether the School Board wants to join forces with the County Commission for a joint sales tax initiative. Commissioner Diane Rowden has suggested the county might want to have a half-cent tax to cover capital improvement projects such as park improvements that otherwise seem never to get done. Members of both panels said the issue might come up during their joint session today. "I just might drop the word sales tax and see what response I get," School Board member Jim Malcolm said. Malcolm said he was open-minded on the idea of a joint sales tax, but was leaning against it. "We have a product we can sell," he said. Commissioner Nancy Robinson also had some reservations. "If (voters) like the School Board issue but don't like the county issue, would you lose support for the school issue, and vice versa?" Robinson wondered. During similar discussions five years ago, "universally we were thinking about, 'If they like this but they don't like that, what will happen to their vote?' " She refused to reject the idea out of hand, though. Nicholson took a harder stance. She said the school district has a strong case to make for new school construction and has proved itself a good steward of taxpayer money by spending the current sales tax responsibly. "The vast majority of people I hear, talk to and see out there believe the county is wasting money on the stupid bus," she said. "They don't see the county as good stewards of their money. I wouldn't want to be associated with them." Rowden contended that a joint campaign could benefit both entities, if executed well. "Wouldn't it make sense?" Rowden said. "We're all in the same county here. I thought part of the reason we're meeting (together) was the first step toward showing . . . we're not against each other." The School Board is much farther along than the County Commission in its tax deliberations. A sales tax is just one of several options for the commission in its effort to increase income for ongoing and new projects, such as road repairs, Robinson said. The budget is far from set, she added. For the School Board, which expects to build as many as seven schools over the next decade, the sales tax is the top choice, over bonding or borrowing. "Just think about it. (Nature Coast Technical) is paid for," Druzbick said. "We are still paying for schools that were built in the mid '80s on a bond. So a $20-million middle school can cost you $35-million (with interest) or a $20-million school can cost you $20-million, and everybody pays for it." The board has scheduled a workshop for April 1 to talk about sales tax, regardless of the conversations that occur at today's joint board-commission meeting. It's never too soon, David said. "The discussion we had (Tuesday) was a healthy beginning. We need to all be on the same page," she said. "It's the beginning of a discussion that has to begin pronto." -- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com .
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