Local Legislators Mixed in Support of Bill That Would Allow Additional Sales Tax for School Construction
The bill would allow all localities to levy the additional tax, if approved by voters in a referendum. It is headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's desk.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Stafford’s representatives in the General Assembly are mixed in their support of a bill that would allow localities to levy an additional 1% sales tax to fund school construction projects.
Senate Bill 1307, which passed the House of Delegates last week and is headed to the governor’s desk, would allow all localities to levy this sales tax, if approved by voters in a local referendum.
The Stafford School Board has supported the measure for several years and voted in October to add the item to its list of legislative priorities for the 2025 General Assembly session.
“The county’s growth [156% between census years 1990 and 2020, with additional 33% forecast between 2020 and 2040] is leading to school capacity challenges,” the legislative priorities state. “Stafford Schools currently has a division-wide capacity percentage of between 95% to 100%. Some relief will be provided due to the construction of Elementary Schools 18 and 19, High School 6, and the rebuild of Drew Middle School. To provide for future growth, the school division has identified $1.5 billion in capital project needs within its FY 2024-2033 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This includes 14 new or replacement school projects.”
Virginia currently allows nine localities — Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania counties, and the City of Danville — to implement the extra sales tax for school construction funding.
SB 1307—introduced by Senator Jeremy McPike, a Democrat representing the 29th district, which includes northern Stafford County—would permit any county or city to impose the additional sales tax “only if the tax is approved in a referendum … and initiated by a resolution of the local governing body.”
The legislation passed the Senate in January by a vote of 27-to-13. Senator Tara Durant, a Republican who represents the 27th district that includes the rest of Stafford County, voted against the bill.
In the House of Delegates, the bill was supported last week by Josh Cole, a Democrat who represents the 65th district, which includes southern Stafford as well as the City of Fredericksburg and part of Spotsylvania County.
It was opposed by Republican Paul Milde, who represents the 64th district, which is entirely located in Stafford.
In an email to the Advance, Milde said he hopes Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoes the bill this year, as he did to a similar bill last year. He said he supported a bill that would have given only Stafford County the option to levy the additional sales tax, “extending it to all localities, regardless of need or circumstance, would effectively result in a statewide tax increase.”
Last year, Cole was chief patron of a bill that would have given Stafford County only the option to add the sales tax if approved by referendum. It was co-sponsored by Del. Candi Munyon King, a Democrat who represents northern Stafford County.
This bill was incorporated into an omnibus bill that passed the House of Delegates and the Senate with bipartisan support, though neither Milde nor Durant supported it. Youngkin vetoed it, citing concern over the potential impact on taxpayers.
In an interview with the Advance, Cole said many of his colleagues, including Republicans representing rural parts of the state, were “frustrated” by Youngkin’s veto last year.
“Schools are crumbling, and we needed this to [potentially] get some funding,” he said. “I understand that people don’t want any new taxes, but this would simply allow a referendum” in which voters in the locality would decide whether or not to support the additional tax.
According to the Virginia Mercury, the Senate has added some provisions from SB 1307 to its proposed state budget, so it will have to be negotiated there even if Youngkin were to veto the bill again.
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