Williamson County has been known for the quality of its schools, and with so much growth in Williamson County and so many families moving to the area, new schools have to be built. Current facilities also need to be improved.
It's estimated that in the next ten years, an additional 20,000 students will enter Williamson County Schools.
"We need to prepare. We need to build schools and get the infrastructure in place," Dr. Mike Looney, Williamson County Schools Director, said. "The cities and the county have been coming up with solutions, ideas about how they might approach the capital needs of the school district, which is right at about $600 million."
On Monday, the Williamson County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of a sales tax increase to help pay for school projects.
"It's 50 cents increase for every $100 that you spend on retail in the community," Looney explained.
The referendum will be sent to the community, as the final decision will be up to voters in February when they head to the polls, and school officials have hoped the community will realize that this is a necessary tax increase.
"It's not an expense from my perspective, it's just an investment, and there's a really good return on it," Looney said, adding that graduating students collected $170 million in scholarships last year, partially thanks to the education they received in Williamson County, and property values also increased due to the quality of the schools in the county.
Regardless of whether the tax increase is improved or not, Looney said something needs to be done to pay for the schools.
"The bottom line is: we have to have the schools," Looney said. "We're not going to have the kids sitting out in the rain, and we're not going to put them in tents in Williamson County. The reality is we're going to build schools, and we just have to figure out how the community wants to best pay for it."
The vote will be considered during a special election in February.
