Wythe County to put 1% local sales tax for schools on Nov. ballot after board vote

The Wythe County Board of Supervisors voted July 14 to place a referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot asking voters to approve a 1% local option sales tax dedicated to school construction and renovation.

Financial adviser Mr. Cooch told the board the county has identified roughly $72 million in school projects that could be eligible for the tax, including a Spiller Elementary School project estimated at about $40 million, a Fort Chiswell High School renovation of about $25 million, approximately $5 million for athletic field improvements, and about $2 million for roof and chiller repairs. Cooch said his team ran conservative financing scenarios and used a planning interest rate of about 4.5 percent to model debt service over 20 years.

"If we start with $5 million a year in sales tax revenue, that can be leveraged to roughly $60 million of debt at 5 percent," Cooch said, adding that a $6 million a year scenario would be more likely under current conditions and that the new legislation excludes some groceries and personal hygiene items (a carve‑out the adviser estimated at about 10 percent of current receipts).

Dr. Street, identified in the meeting as the school division superintendent, said the school board unanimously adopted a resolution supporting putting the tax question to voters. "Our board was in support of our citizens being able to put this on the ballot and make that choice," Dr. Street said, noting the potential savings from completing projects sooner.

The board was clear that the vote taken July 14 was to put the measure on the ballot for citizens to decide, not to enact the tax. Mr. Cooch reviewed the timetable: the board should adopt the resolution by Aug. 13 so the circuit judge can set the referendum for the Nov. 3 general election; if approved by voters, the board would adopt an ordinance to enact the tax and collections would begin in the county's budget year identified by staff (modeled to start in FY2028).

Board members asked what share of the revenue would come from visitors and interstate traffic. Staff and the adviser pointed to per‑capita sales‑tax comparisons with nearby counties and estimated that a significant portion of current sales tax collections derive from interstate commerce through Wythe County. The adviser and staff emphasized conservative assumptions in the board presentation and noted that preliminary design work could proceed before the tax is effective, but hard construction could not begin until collections were legally in effect.

The board voted to approve the resolution sending the 1% local option sales tax to the ballot. The next procedural steps are (1) finalizing the resolution on or before the dates the adviser identified to meet court deadlines and (2) if voters approve in November, adopting an ordinance to enact the tax and proceeding with the planned financing and project scheduling.

The board did not authorize any specific bond issuance or construction contract at the July 14 meeting; those steps would follow the outcome of the referendum and the board's later action.