HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Major work is underway this summer at schools across the Hillsborough County School district thanks to referendum funds.
Hillsborough County Public Schools said it will use referendum funds to complete significant projects at many school sites this summer, totaling approximately $110 million in renovations funded by the halfpenny sales tax.
To date, the district said it’s completed 453 projects and currently has 160 projects in progress.
“In 2018, this community wrapped their arms around this school district to be able to address the billion dollars of deferred maintenance,” said Addison Davis, the Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent. “By doing so and approving a half-cent penny tax, allowing the school district to find and identify dollars that will really create the best infrastructure and facilities for our students every single day.”
At Martinez Middle School in Lutz, crews are hard at work on significant construction. The school will get a partial air conditioning replacement, a fire alarm and evacuation improvements, gym floor repair, new network infrastructure, and painting.
“Over the duration of this referendum, 1,700 projects will be able to be recognized and finalized with hard work, dedication to make certain that our children are able to have a safe location, a thriving location, and build a culture that shows that we truly, genuinely care and appreciate them every single day,” said Davis.
The district also said it anticipates investing $23 million to upgrade safety and security systems through referendum dollars.
Nicole Odell, a project manager, said she’s a mother of three that have graduated from Hillsborough County Schools.
“Like all the other parents in the Hillsborough County School system, we know what our students need in order to be able to learn comfortably, and the tax dollars that they’ve been able to actualize through the referendum has been key to making these projects happen,” said Odell.
According to the school district, HCPS has received $448,742,605.55 so far from the referendum and invested $355,551.686.45 to date.
