Council peppers School Board with tax questions

The first sit-down meeting between the Jacksonville City Council and Duval County School Board leaders about a proposed half-cent sales tax for schools brought questions Wednesday from council members about the timing for an election date and the mechanics of how the sales tax would work.

City Council member Jim Love put himself in the "for" column when he voiced his support for approving the School Board's request to have a special election on Nov. 5.

Love noted that the School Board would pick up the cost for holding the special election. He said the faster the school district can benefit from sales tax revenue, the better it can respond to tackling problems "that will only get worse" and more costly over time.

"I think people deserve to weigh in on this," Love said. "It's important not just for the schools. It's very important for our kids. It's also important for our economy. We need good schools."

But several council members said they still have questions as they head toward voting this month on the School Board's request for a referendum. Another meeting could be scheduled in the coming days for the council's Finance Committee and Rules Committee to meet jointly with school district representatives.

"I think we're headed in the right direction," said City Council member Reggie Gaffney, who supports a referendum and convened the Wednesday session.

School District Superintendent Diana Greene gave council members an overview of a $1.9 billion master plan that lists work on a school-by-school basis geared toward new construction, renovation and technology. She said the district is using conservative projections for the proposed 15-year sales tax to generate about $1.3 billion over that time period.

She said the remainder of the master plan's cost would be financed by the district's current property tax rate for school facilities.

None of the eight City Council members who attended the meeting staked out a position in opposition to putting the referendum on the ballot.

City Council member Al Ferraro objected to a "do it for the kids" theme voiced by speakers during a public hearing at Tuesday night's council meeting. He said "everybody wants" what's best for children, but his constituents want to know how the school district is using the money it has now.

"People want to know where the money has been spent and how it's been effectively used," Ferraro said.

Greg Anderson, who is chairman of the council's Finance Committee, said council members are operating under a tight time frame to get all their questions answered by next Tuesday when the Finance and Rules committees cast votes on the referendum request.

"I think we've started a really good process," Anderson said. "We'll do our very best between now and then."

City Council member Tommy Hazouri, who is chairman of the Rules Committee, reiterated his support for the referendum and said the school district "has a great plan." But he questioned why the School Board wants to have a special election in November rather than in 2020.

"Why the rush today for November?" Hazouri said. "Why not change the date of the referendum?"

School Board member Ashley Smith Juarez said the district has been assessing the deteriorating condition of its schools for years. She said the district "has done our homework" and "our children do not have time to wait." She said based on comments from the public, "the community is ready" to vote on a sales tax.

"The future of our school buildings speaks to the future of our city, so what we need is to come together in partnership to say 2019 is the time," she said. "There's no need to wait."

She said the district would recoup the roughly $1 million cost of a special election because the sales tax would enable construction projects to get done faster, meaning the district can cut back on the cost of short-term fixes that drain money from long-term investments.

The questions from council members caused one parent in the audience to question whether City Council is an adversary to the School Board.

"As I sit here today as a parent, it's a bit troubling," Tiffany Clark said. She said as she watched council members and school district officials "interact with one another, it seems like a fight."

Ferraro and Anderson said asking question is part of their duty as council members.

"We're here because we want to see this move forward in a positive way," Ferraro said. "I don't want anybody to think in any circumstance this is a battle between City Council and the School Board."

Anderson said a "highly successful, efficient school system is critical to Jacksonville's future. So we've got to get this right."

City Council member John Crescimbeni said he's "walked a tightrope" about whether his role as council member is to "get down in the weeds" and examine every facet of the School Board's plan, or whether the council is supposed to decide whether a referendum should go on the ballot.

Crescimbeni said the School Board is in charge of its master plan and the council's role is to vote on the "up or down question" of whether voters should have a referendum. He asked the city's Office of General Counsel to give guidance on how much flexibility council has for election dates in 2020.

Other council members at the Wednesday meeting were Sam Newby and Ju'Coby Pittman.

David Bauerlein: (904) 359-4581