Caddo Parish staff seeks legislative OK for up to 0.5% sales tax; board and public debate trade‑offs

Caddo Parish School Board staff told the Insurance and Finance Committee on March 4 they asked Representative Mellerin to carry House Bill 13, legislation that would authorize the district to ask voters in the future to approve a local sales tax up to one‑half cent.

The request is a preliminary step: staff said the board has not approved and has no current plan to place a sales‑tax proposal before local voters. The authority would simply give the district the option in the future to secure legislative permission to levy a sales tax if the board and voters agreed.

Nut graf: The authorization is intended as a financing tool — to provide an option to secure bond proceeds using sales tax revenue, to reduce reliance on property taxes for debt service or to raise general revenue — but it prompted questions from board members and public commenters about who would pay, how much revenue it would…