The History of Polk PromiseIn 2003, the voters of Polk County approved a half-cent sales tax to address critical building and capacity needs of the Polk County Public Schools. This increased the county sales tax from 6% to 6.5%, and only applies to the first $5000.00 of the price of a taxable purchase. Approved for 15 years, the collected tax was designated toward ongoing improvements, including additional schools and classrooms to accommodate population growth, modernization of older schools, the replacement of portables with permanent structures, maintenance of all facilities, repairs and enhancements to the buildings and systems, upgrades in technology, and increased student safety.
Over its initial 15-year implementation, the sales tax yielded approximately $560,000,000. The School Board used this money as the main source of capital and maintenance funding for the projects identified by the district under the Polk Promise Half-Cent Sales Tax Initiative, and for other projects approved by the OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE due to immediate need. In November of 2018, the voters of Polk County approved a renewal of the half-cent sales tax to address continuing building and capacity needs within the district. The Oversight CommitteeAs part of the 1/2 cent sales tax initiative, a twenty-one member Oversight Committee was formed, appointed by the Polk County School Board, for financial accountability. The district's Facilities staff reports to the committee four times yearly, to review current, new, and potential future projects funded with sales tax money.
The purpose of the committee is to oversee the management of the tax collected to insure that such funds are used in the way they were intended. At each meeting, the committee members receive the following reports:
The committee meets quarterly, every March, June, September, and December, with the option to call for additional meetings as deemed necessary. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. |
Did you know...?The average family of four with an income of $55,000 a year pays about $61.25 per year for the half-cent sales tax? That's only a little more than $5.00 a month. Every (half) penny counts!
Half Cent Sales Tax Average Per Family
(Source: IRS.gov) Click on the chart to enlarge. Click outside of the chart to return to this screen.
|