Hillsborough County schools begin $100M in summer repairs as district touts half-cent sales tax

TAMPA, Fla. - The Hillsborough County school district kicked off $100 million in summer repairs Wednesday, with much of the work focused on updating air conditioning systems at schools across the county.

Fourteen schools are on tap to get their HVAC systems repaired or replaced this summer, including Brandon High School, which district leaders toured Wednesday.

"The fact that we'll have a constant temperature going on. It's just going to make things more conducive to learning at the end of the day," explained Dr. Jeremy Klein, Brandon High School's principal.

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The district will spend nearly $85 million on HVAC improvements countywide and an additional $16.9 million on other maintenance projects, including new playgrounds, track and athletic field repairs, kitchen and cafeteria improvements and painting.

Hillsborough schools are undergoing $85 million in HVAC repairs or replacements this summer. 

The work is being paid for by the half-cent sales tax for education improvements that was passed by voters in 2018. So far, the district has collected about $800 million for improvement projects over the years.

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Deputy Superintendent Chris Farkas explained this revenue has been critical, especially for schools with aging AC units.

"It would have been catastrophic if we did not have the half-penny sales tax," he stated. "You would see mass outages across our district, with what we have with the cost increase and things like that. The half-penny sales tax was essential."

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District leaders said they hope taxpayers see how their money is being used and are willing to pass another tax increase in November; a referendum is on the ballot that would raise property taxes to increase teacher pay.

Farkas said this is also a time to remind voters why money from the 2018 half-cent sales tax cannot be used for salaries.

"It's two different buckets, the capital dollars that we had, and a half-penny sales tax that cannot be used for salaries. They can only be used for buildings," he explained.

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