ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools leaders delivered their State of the Schools to a packed house at Edgewater High School on Monday morning as they discussed issues ranging from school discipline to teacher shortages to school ratings.

They also pushed for voters to check “yes” on their election ballots on a referendum on renewing the half-penny sales tax in November.

District leaders said the half-penny sales tax helped get rid of thousands of ugly portable classrooms on school campuses by providing the funds to take on renovations and large expansion projects and to pay to build new school buildings.

The half-penny sales tax is currently in place — but up for renewal in November. The sales tax was originally approved in 2002 and then renewed in 2014. In April, the school board approved a proposal to put a referendum on the ballot about whether to extend the sales tax for another 10 years. 

If voters renew it, the sales tax in Orange County will remain at 6.5%. If they reject an extension, the half-cent going to schools will expire, and the sales tax in Orange County will drop to 6%.

School leaders said the district needs the funding because of overpopulated schools caused by an influx of residents.

For example, Maria Agosto's daughter Leyla attends Water Spring Elementary in Winter Garden. Her family has lived in their neighborhood for three years, but growth in the area has meant a few headaches at schools for parents, teachers and students.

"There were so many kids there, that they had two classes per portable," Agosto said.

But a new school, Atwater Bay Elementary School, is set to open in August, relieving overpopulation at the surrounding schools.

And officials say the new construction is thanks to the half-penny sales tax.

Leyla said she's got a lot to look forward to at the new school.

"I’m excited 'cause there’s gonna be new playgrounds. And it’s closer to my house, and, I guess, just everything," Leyla said.

Orange County is the eigthth-largest school district in the nation and the fourth-largest in the state of Florida, according to the district’s website. The district had about 208,000 students enrolled in 210 schools in the 2023-24 school year, OCPS reported.

"We had schools in disrepair (before the half-cent sales tax). We had, at one time, thousands of portables. Schools falling down, as I previously mentioned," said advocate Dick Batchelor of Change 4 Kids. "So it’s very important. But for the community, it’s good, too, because as the head of the realtors will say, when somebody moves here, how is my school rated in this district?"

According to the Orange County school district, more than 50% of the revenue from the tax is paid for by tourists and non-residents.