Members of the Hillsborough County School Board voted Friday to add a new tax referendum to November's ballot.
The proposed half-cent sales tax will go directly toward air conditioning replacement, new school construction and renovation of existing schools, said Tanya Arja, spokeswoman for the school district.
"There's just a lot of needs in Hillsborough County Schools, we have a billion dollars in deferred maintenance, we have a billion dollars needed for growth," said Arja.
The School Board voted 5-2 to include the referendum in the November 6 General Election, with a ten-year levy to start in January of 2020.
With this vote, there will now be two tax referendums on the ballot. A local group is asking for a 1-cent sales tax to help with transportation needs.
