ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — On Tuesday night, Orange County School Board Members unanimously voted to place a renewal of a half-cent sales tax on the ballot in November.

District officials say the tax has previously generated about $4 billion for construction and renovation projects since 2002. Some school staff say the projects at Howard Middle School exemplify why the tax should be renewed.

What You Need To Know

  • The Orange County Public Schools Board unanimously approved to put a half-cent sales tax on the ballot this year 

  • District officials say the tax has previously generated about $4 billion for construction and renovation projects since 2002

  • District officials expect over the next 10 years, the tax will account for roughly $800 million in funding if renewed

  • According to the district, 64% of voters were on board with the measure back in 2014

District officials say Howard Middle School’s latest renovations were paid entirely by the half-cent sales tax. While work is still underway, the school is taking part in a near complete-overhaul as they work to repair but preserve the roughly 100-year-old historic property.

While Principal John McHale jokes about the school’s legendary ghost stories, he’s quick to point out that the age of the building has resulted in quite an undertaking as far as renovations go.

The crown molding in the theatre, for example, will stay in place but must be deep scrubbed with layers of old paint removed before it can be painted back over.

The new flooring, he says, had to be specially designed to account for special considerations from the school’s old wood floors.

“There’s a lot of tradition, but on the other hand, there’s a lot of other new things that are coming forward,” said John McHale, Principal of Howard Middle School.

But new projects cost money, and according to OCPS documents, a whopping $55 million in total for the Howard Middle overhaul.

Enter the half-cent sales tax.

Since its start about 20 years ago, district officials say the tax has funded the renovation or replacement of 136 schools, and the construction of 65 new schools.

At Howard Middle School, district officials say their renovation project has been funded completely by the half-cent sales tax.

“This was—until now—this was a school that just happened to have lots of arts programs. Now, we’ll be an arts school that is a community center piece,” said McHale.

District officials expect over the next 10 years, the tax will account for roughly $800 million in funding if renewed.

“There’s no other source of money for us to take advantage of, it just doesn’t exist," said OCPS chair Teresa Jacobs.

But the money has to arrive from somewhere, and that’s taxpayer pockets.

"Right now with the economy with where it's at, it's hard for people to put one more tax dollar in the bucket," said OCPS District 3 board member Alicia Farrant. "But honestly I’ve seen a huge improvement with how this tax helps our schools.”

While OCPS boasts that 55% of the tax burden falls on tourists rather than locals, those numbers indicate Orange County residents would have still paid at least $1.8 billion towards the tax since 2002.

According to the district, 64% of voters were on board with the measure back in 2014.