Leon County’s half penny sales tax has been extended for another 15 years after voters approved the measure on Tuesday.
The county surtax passed with 67 percent voter approval. It would have expired at the end of this year. Supporters of the half penny tax, like Steve Uhlfelder, Chairman of the Leon Alliance for Better County Schools, said the fight to keep the tax wasn’t easy.
“Well there are some people that thought maybe because we had it for ten years we didn’t need it for another fifteen, we also had a problem that we were last on the ballot, and there were a lot of constitutional amendments ahead of us that people voted against, but basically, but this is a wonderful community ,people understood the need to support their schools,” said Uhlfelder.
The Leon County Superintendent’s office estimates the tax will bring in about 20 million dollars every year, and about 265 million dollars over the next 15 years. The money will help pay for school construction, renovation, land acquisition and technology improvements.
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