Hillsborough voters renew 10-year school tax, make superintendent an elected post

TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County voters overwhelmingly approved a 10-year renewal of the district's half-cent sales surtax, securing an estimated $1.5 billion to overhaul aging school campuses while remaking how district leaders are chosen.

Hillsborough school sales tax renewal

What we know:

The ballot referendum passed with 62% of the vote and more than 300,000 ballots cast in favor, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. The renewed surtax gives officials the green light to fund more than 1,700 scheduled capital improvement projects over the next decade across the nation's seventh-largest school district.

Under state law, revenue from the sales surtax is strictly restricted to brick-and-mortar capital projects and cannot be used for classroom operational expenses. While residents previously approved a separate tax dedicated to teacher and staff raises, officials cannot spend those funds on physical infrastructure repairs.

Campus repairs and spending

By the numbers:

Voters first enacted the half-cent sales tax in 2018 to resolve severe, district-wide facility deficits. Since collections began in 2019, the tax has generated more than $1.3 billion for Hillsborough County Public Schools, funding more than 1,000 completed renovations with roughly 200 additional jobs currently underway.

Money raised through the measure has already paid for 180 air conditioning unit replacements, over 60 roof installations, as well as dozens of upgraded athletic fields and playgrounds. Beyond structural comfort, the funds also support essential safety upgrades, including modern campus fire alarm systems, perimeter security fencing and fortified entryways.

Future oversight and projects

What we don't know:

District officials have not yet released the finalized construction calendar detailing which specific schools will receive the first wave of the 1,700 upcoming capital projects. It also remains unclear how quickly the county will schedule the transition timeline for changing the superintendent selection process into an open public election.

Oversight committee reaction

What they're saying:

"We would have been in deep trouble because there was desperate cry for air conditioning, for roofing, for technology," Jose Valiente, chair of the Hillsborough County Schools Citizen Oversight Committee, said. "The loudest cry was for air-conditioning. So we have been able to, we have completed over a thousand projects since it started in 2019. And we have about 200 more to go. And it's just nonstop. And that's why we can't go backwards."

Valiente emphasized that losing the pipeline would have stalled vital maintenance district-wide. 

"We can't go backwards," Valiente said. "We were far behind when the tax first arrived, and we have come, that from day one that the money started coming in, till last month, over $1.3 billion have come in and spent in the schools. It's huge. Imagine if we didn't have that tax, all this stuff that was done, we couldn't do it. So it's been incredible."

District leadership shakeup

What's next:

A newly transformed leadership team will take charge of managing the $1.5 billion tax investment and overseeing the hundreds of upcoming contracts. Voters approved a major governance overhaul that strips the Hillsborough County School Board of its authority to appoint the superintendent, officially turning the position into an elected role.

Voters also settled two competitive seats on the dais. Daniela Simic won a tightly contested race to take over the District 2 seat, while incumbent board Chair Karen Perez won re-election to retain her District 6 position.

Hillsborough CountyEducation2026 ElectionsFlorida Politics