Beaufort County school board to place sales tax on Nov. ballot

Beaufort County residents will decide this November whether to authorize a 10-year, one-percent, educational sales tax, school board members decided Saturday.

The board voted during a work session on Saturday to place the penny sales tax referendum on the general election ballot. If approved, the tax is expected to generate about $282 million over the course of 10 years for the construction of new schools and other capital projects to extend the life of existing facilities, such as roof and HVAC replacements.

The tax would also reduce property owners’ taxes on debt service by one-third over the period of time the tax is in place, beginning in March 2017 and expiring automatically in 2027.

The board and school district will schedule several educational and informational public meetings on the sales tax and will provide details of the proposal on the district’s website, a news release said.

A separate one-percent sales tax could also end up on that November ballot.

The Beaufort County Capital Project Sales Tax Commission is developing a referendum question based on the wish lists of Beaufort County and other local municipalities, agencies and organizations, including cash to widen U.S. 278 and overhauling the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office’s communications systems.

Officials have said they expect the commission to present a referendum question for a sales tax that would generate about $120 million over no more than eight years. It meets next on Tuesday.

This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Beaufort County school board to place sales tax on Nov. ballot."