HCPS to Hold Town Halls on Half-Penny Tax Renewal Before November Vote

Hillsborough County Public Schools will hold five town hall meetings over the next month to explain the Half-Penny Promise sales tax referendum before it goes to voters on the Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot. The measure would extend, not raise, the existing half-cent sales surtax for another 10 years, and it is the district's main source of money for building and fixing schools.

The district announced the schedule Sept. 17. Three sessions are in person, all running 6 to 7 p.m.:

• Tuesday, Sept. 22 at Newsome High School
• Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Gaither High School
• Thursday, Oct. 1 at Hillsborough High School

Two more town halls will be held virtually over Microsoft Teams, one on Sept. 22 from noon to 1 p.m. and another on Oct. 14 from 6 to 7 p.m. Members of the district's independent Citizen Oversight Committee, a group of community leaders who review how the money is spent, are expected to take part in the meetings alongside district staff.

What's at stake for taxpayers

Voters first approved the half-penny surtax in 2018. Since then, the district says it has invested more than $1.326 billion in school improvements, with more than $716 million of that going to local businesses. That money has paid for new schools, campus renovations, air conditioning replacements, roof work and security upgrades across the county.

As of Feb. 28, 2026, the district had spent more than $1.15 billion of the surtax, including about $682.6 million with local and small businesses, on capital projects. The revenue is dedicated exclusively to capital improvements and cannot be used for salaries or day-to-day operating costs.

Superintendent Van Ayres said the town halls are meant to walk residents through what has already been built with the money and what another decade of the tax would fund going forward. If voters reject the renewal, the district loses a dedicated funding stream for long-term construction and facility work, and would have to lean more heavily on state dollars and its regular operating budget to cover aging buildings and enrollment growth.

Why it matters for local schools

The surtax lets the district plan projects years in advance instead of waiting on state appropriations that can shift from one legislative session to the next. It has also become a steady source of work for local contractors, with hundreds of millions of dollars routed through Hillsborough-area businesses since 2018.

A rejection wouldn't change the sales tax rate immediately, since the current levy runs its course under the original 2018 authorization. But it would leave the district without a renewed capital funding source once that authorization lapses, at a time when many campuses still need roof, HVAC and security work.

The district has posted more detail on the referendum, including project lists and spending reports from the oversight committee, at its Half-Penny Sales Tax Referendum page. The virtual sessions require registering through the links the district has shared for the Sept. 22 and Oct. 14 Teams meetings.

No additional town halls have been announced beyond the Oct. 14 virtual session, and the district has not said when it will release a final list of projects tied to the renewal if voters approve it in November.

For more updates on this story and other coverage, visit Tampa Community Website and follow us on Facebook. Have thoughts on the tax renewal? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and check out more education stories from around Hillsborough County.

Header photo: TampAGS, for AGS Media / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)