The Hillsborough County school district showed off the $9 million check they just received.
They will be getting one of these every month for the next ten years thanks to the half penny sales tax passed in November. Most of the money is going to repairs.
Principal Debbie Anderson is looking forward to the fixes in her school, Mitchell Elementary.
It will start with painting inside and out and restoration of the brick exterior built in 1915.
“There are a lot of things that happen that we just haven’t been able to take care of," said Anderson.
But her school will have to wait five more years for what she says is it’s biggest need, a new air conditioning unit.
“I’ve had to bring in portable air conditioners from the district. I’ve had parents who have purchased portable air conditioners for us,” she said.
This summer 21 other schools will get new A/C units, and 13 will get new roofs.
But smaller projects will begin in the next few days. That included 50 new playgrounds, tracks, and athletic courts.
31 schools will get new paint or new carpet.
“Finally all those challenges, all those needs we’ve been talking about for a number of years can finally be satisfied," said Superintendent Jeff Eakins.
$9 million is just from one month of sales tax. The district expects $130 million a year, totaling $1.3 billion over the ten years of the tax.
The spending and prioritization of projects is managed by an independent oversight committee.
For information on how the money will be spent, click here.
