NOTICE OF TAX FOR

SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY

 

The Leon County School Board will soon consider a measure to continue to impose a 1.500 mill property tax for the capital outlay projects listed herein.  The tax is in addition to the school board’s proposed tax of 3.866 mills for operating expenses and is proposed solely at the discretion of the school board.

 

**THE PROPOSED COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSE AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE.

The capital outlay will generate approximately $41,994,154 to be used for the following projects:

CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING

District Wide Locations

Administration of Projects/Sites

MAINTENANCE, RENOVATION AND REPAIR

Preventative and Emergency Management

Reimbursement of the maintenance, renovation and repairs paid through the General Fund as permitted by Florida Statute

Paint, Roofs, HVAC, Fire Alarms, Sprinklers, Intercoms, Security Systems, Emergency Management, District Wide Locations

MOTOR VEHICLE PURCHASES

Purchase of Maintenance Vehicles	Purchase of 10 School Buses
Purchase of Student Transportation Vans

NEW AND REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER AND DEVICE HARDWARE AND OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE NECESSARY FOR GAINING ACCESS TO OR ENHANCING THE USE OF ELECTRONIC AND DIGITAL INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT AND RESOURCES, AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCE SOFTWARE

Purchase of tablets district wide	Purchase of new computers district wide
Purchase of network equipment	Purchase of classroom furniture & equipment, including instruments, district wide
Purchase of software applications for district wide administration of enterprise resource software acquired via license/maintenance fees or lease agreements

PAYMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AND SITES DUE UNDER LEASE-PURCHASE AGREEMENT

Annual master lease payments for various facilities and renovations

Annual lease payment for qualified school construction bonds for various facilities

Annual lease payment of qualified zone academy bonds for various facilities

Annual master lease payments for site purchases

Debt service payments on certificates of participation for various facilities

PAYMENT OF COSTS OF COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STATUTES, RULES, AND REGULATIONS

Removal of hazardous materials

PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS FOR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE NECESSARY TO INSURE EDUCATIONAL AND ANCILLARY PLANTS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Insurance premiums on district plant

PAYMENT OF COSTS OF LEASING RELOCATABLE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES

Leasing of portable classrooms PAYMENT OF SALARIES AND BENEFITS Salaries and benefits for school bus drivers

CHARTER SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS PURSUANT TO S.1013.52(4), F.S.

Purchase of real property	Construction of school facilities
Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school facilities	Purchase of vehicles to transport students
Payment of costs of opening day collection for library media	Purchase or lease of permanent or relocatable school facilities
Purchase of the cost of premiums for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure school facilities
Purchase or lease of driver’s education, maintenance, security vehicles or vehicles use in storing and distributing materials and equipment
Computer and device hardware and operating system software necessary for gaining access to or enhancing the use of electronic and digital instructional content and resources, and enterprise resource software

 

All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to be held on:

 

July 29, 2025 – 6:00 p.m.

at The Aquilina Howell Center

3955 West Pensacola Street

 Tallahassee, Florida

A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be made at this hearing.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE

.

The Leon County School Board will soon consider a measure to increase its property tax levy.

Last year’s property tax levy

A.   Initially proposed tax levy...	$       146,401,457
B.    Less tax reductions due to Value Adjustment Board and other assessment changes...	$             381,961
C.    Actual property tax levy...	$       146,019,496
This year’s proposed tax levy	$       156,486,546

 

A portion of the tax levy is required under state law in order for the school board to receive $165,790,219 in state education grants.

The required portion has increased by 4.50 percent, and represents approximately six-tenths of the total proposed taxes.

 

The remainder of the taxes is proposed solely at the discretion of the school board.

All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing on the tax increase to be held on

 

July 29, 2025 - 6:00 p.m.

at

The Aquilina Howell Center

3955 West Pensacola Street

Tallahassee, Florida

 

A DECISION on the proposed tax increase and the budget will be made at this hearing.

The Challenge: For years, John G. Riley Elementary has had more students zoned to attend than the school's capacity allows. That means if every student currently zoned to attend Riley Elementary School showed up to attend school, there would not be enough classrooms. Additionally, more than 50 Pre-Kindergarten students currently attend school at the Wesson Center across town. 

The Proposal: LCS is proposing to rezone John G. Riley Elementary for the 2025-2026 school year to shift some students to Astoria Park, Ft. Braden, and Sabal Palm Elementary schools. This would decrease the number of students zoned to attend Riley and free up classroom space to allow for up to three Pre-Kindergarten classrooms. 

Parents: Each school impacted will host community meetings to provide more information about the rezoning process. Parents of current John G. Riley Elementary School students impacted by the new proposed school zones can choose to keep their students at Riley for the 2025-2026 school year. However, there will be no bus transportation provided. This parental decision will need to be made by April 18, 2025.  

Public Meetings: 

• Sabal Palm: Wednesday, February 12 at 6:00 p.m. 
• Ft. Braden: Thursday, February 13 at 6:00 p.m. 
• Riley: Wednesday, February, 19 at 6:00 p.m. 
• Astoria Park: Thursday, February 20 at 6:00 p.m.