The school’s ½ Penny Sales tax for employee salaries, and a millage renewal for Hammond’s Downtown Development District, were both successful on Saturday.
After passage of the tax to fund employee raises, Superintendent Melissa Stilley called it a new day in Tangipahoa Parish.She said after countless months of hard work and years of sacrifice the people of Tangipahoa parish approved a half-penny sales tax to bring employee salaries in line with their counterparts around the state. Stilley said will make them competitive and will help attract and retain the best and brightest employees. Stilley said 74 percent of the voters who cast ballots yesterday took a stand for the local school system. She said that it’s been almost 30 years since anyone has done what this district was able to accomplish over the weekend.
The half-penny tax will go into effect July 1. Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from the new tax, which is estimated to bring in an additional $10 million per year. Under the proposal approved Saturday, district employees will get a seven percent raise in the new budget year, which begins this fall.
