Sept. 8
September 8, 2009
Wilda Marie Boudreaux Molaison
September 10, 2009
The Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce board of directors recently voted unanimously to endorse the Terrebonne Parish School District’s one-cent sales tax re-dedication and millage renewal propositions.
Both initiatives will be on the upcoming Oct. 17 ballot.
A chamber representative will be at the next school board meeting on Sept. 15 to make a public endorsement.
“This adds momentum and credibility to our efforts,” said Schools Superintendent Philip Martin. “The chamber is a well-respected organization. For the chamber to endorse anything tax related they have to feel overwhelmingly that it is in the best interest of the business community.”
Currently, 17 percent of the one-cent sales tax is evenly split between technology upgrades and school maintenance. The school district would use some or the entire 17 percent to repay the bonds raised for school construction projects.
That portion of the tax generates about $4 million annually.
The average age of Terrebonne Parish schools is 50 years, according to Martin. Many of the schools are overcrowded with students, he said.
“We feel there needs to be some monies dedicated towards rebuilding those schools, especially the ones that continuously flood as a result of hurricanes and storm surge,” said chamber president and CEO Drake Pothier. “There wasn’t a large enough pool of money dedicated to rebuilding.
“We felt it was a good opportunity to allow an existing tax to better funds those needs,” he added.
The millage renews an existing 10-year property tax that has been on the books for more than 70 years.
If approved, the tax would be active between 2011 and 2020, and is expected to generate about $3.8 million per year, according to school officials.
“We’re going to use all our communication means to spread the word to our chamber members and their employees to vote ‘Yes’ on these propositions,” Pothier said.
The chamber has just under 1,000 members.
“What’s good for education is good for business,” Martin insisted. “You really can’t separate the two.”
