Winchester officials on Wednesday evening held the third of four town halls on a 1% sales tax referendum to benefit school construction projects, which will be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Localities have been authorized by the Virginia General Assembly to put the question before voters, if they so choose.
Winchester and Frederick County have elected to do so, meaning voters must decide if their respective local governing body should enact up to a 1% additional sales tax for a period of 20 years, with revenue going toward school capital projects in that jurisdiction.
In Winchester, the referendum question will appear on the ballot as follows: "Should an additional general retail sales tax not to exceed 1% be levied in the City for the payment of capital projects for the construction and/or renovation of schools serving the City in accordance with the Code of Virginia § 58.1-605.1? The revenue from the additional general sales tax not to exceed 1% shall be used solely for capital projects for the renovation or construction of City schools, financing and/or bonds, to the extent the capital projects are to be financed by bonds and/or loans, and the additional general sales tax not to exceed 1% shall expire no later than July 14, 2046."
"After the election, if it's a no, we'll stop there, right?" said Mary Blowe, Winchester's deputy city manager. "If it's a yes, City Council will have to consider an ordinance, and they will vote."
One percent is the maximum tax that could be levied, but City Council could decide to enact a lesser amount, such as 0.5%.
If approved, the tax would take effect 120 days after council adopts an ordinance, so likely sometime around April, said Blowe.
According to information presented, a 7% total sales tax, including the city's existing 6% tax rate and the additional 1%, would add 63 cents to a $10 purchase, $1.58 to a $25 purchase and $3.15 to a $50 purchase.
A 0.5% additional sales tax, or total 6.5% rate, would add 58 cents to a $10 purchase, $1.45 to a $25 purchase and $2.90 to a $50 purchase.
A 1% tax could raise between $8 million and $10 million annually, while a 0.5% tax could generate between $4 million and $5 million.
Winchester Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Buckley outlined the division's future capital needs, the most prominent being a renovation and replacement project at Garland R. Quarles Elementary School that the school division hopes to pursue.
The project, which aims to turn the school's 1995 portion into a division-wide early learning center, demolish the 1950s portion and build a new K-5 building on campus, would cost an estimated $80.9 million.
WPS recently announced a $17.38 million award to support the project from Virginia's School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP).
Revenue from the sales tax initiative could allow the division to further fund the project.
Buckley also noted about $10 million worth of necessary capital projects at Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary, $8 million at John Handley High School, $2.5 million at the Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center and $1.4 million at the Daniel Morgan campus, billing these items as the highest-priority projects across the division.
"For us, this referendum is timely because we do have a lot of projects that are just really in need, so it would really benefit our school division to be able to successfully complete these projects," said Buckley.
Winchester School Board Chair Bryan Pearce-Gonzales, who attended the meeting at Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary School, said that from a board perspective, "This is really ... a 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-year thought process in terms of thinking about the long-term viability and long-term excellence of what we are able to a offer here in Winchester Public Schools."
One citizen attendee asked if there was any concern over whether, should the initiative pass, City Council would, in turn, "be tempted to decrease funding to schools."
"I think that would be a poor judgement," Pearce-Gonzales said, "but it could plausibly happen, yes."
School Board Vice Chair Mike Birchenough, who also attended the meeting, added that the additional sales tax would only raise money for capital needs, not salaries, insurance or instructional materials.
"You would hope they would not cut us on the operating revenue, which is what pays those, right?" he said.
A meeting attendee who identified herself as an employee in Winchester's office of elections made note that there is a City Council seat up for election this November in every ward.
"So if you feel strongly one way or another, you need to research those positions because the City Council that votes on this could look very different in January," she said. "So keep that in mind and do your research."
The next town hall is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. at Daniel Morgan Middle School.