The State Board of Education could join the effort to pass a May ballot proposal to boost road funding. State lawmakers are asking voters to approve raising the sales tax from six percent to seven percent.
If approved, it’s expected to increase road funding by $1.2 billion dollars a year. It would also boost funding for schools by about $300 million a year.
“We are all very supportive, I hope, of getting that passed because it does good things for our roads and good things for our schools at the same time,” said State Board of Education President John Austin. “I hope we will both endorse and support and encourage passage, but also help explain why this element is important for most of the people that care about education – which is pretty much everybody.”
Opponents of the ballot proposal say a higher sales tax will hurt consumers and businesses. University officials are also concerned about a provision that would ban using money in the state’s School Aid Fund for universities.
