1 For Schools passed 89,819 to 87,251 with every ballot counted. It lets Chesterfield add up to 1% sales tax for schools, including a new Midlothian Middle.
Updated Nov. 14: With every ballot counted, voters approved the question 89,819 to 87,251 (50.7% to 49.3%). The 1.45% margin is above the 1% line for a recount. See our results story.
Updated Nov. 7: Voters approved the question 87,582 to 85,938 (50.5% to 49.5%) in unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. The margin is under 1%, so a recount petition is possible. See our results story.
Chesterfield County voters decided Nov. 3 whether the county may add up to 1% to the local sales tax to pay for school buildings. Two of the six named projects are in the Midlothian area: a replacement for Midlothian Middle School and a new elementary school for the Midlothian and Clover Hill districts.
The question is called 1 For Schools. The county set out the details on its 1 For Schools referendum page and in a “Just the Facts” article posted Oct. 15.
What the vote decides
A yes vote authorizes the tax but does not start it, the county said. The Board of Supervisors would then have to adopt a separate ordinance to levy it. The tax would take effect on the first day of a month at least 120 days after that ordinance.
The key terms, according to the county:
- The sales tax rate would rise from 6% to as much as 7%.
- Groceries and essential personal hygiene products are exempt. They stay at Virginia’s reduced 1% rate.
- The county projects $65 million to $70 million a year, starting July 1, 2027.
- The money can be spent only on building or renovating schools.
- It cannot replace existing county school construction money or repay debt from the 2022 bond referendum.
- The tax would expire July 22, 2046.
The county estimates that visitors would pay 25% to 30% of the new revenue.
The Midlothian projects
The county’s project list includes two in the Midlothian area:
- Midlothian Middle School replacement. The county said this replaces the 1924 building and completes a project partly funded by the 2022 bond referendum.
- A new Midlothian/Clover Hill area elementary school. The county said it would ease crowding at Old Hundred and Watkins elementary schools. The county map shows only an approximate location.
The other four projects are elsewhere in the county:
- an addition at Thomas Dale High School, moving ninth grade from its west campus
- a new elementary and pre-K school in the Dale District, to remove about 60 trailers
- the second phase of the Matoaca Middle School renovation
- a new gym at Bird High School
About half the money would repay bonds for those six projects, the county said. The other half would pay for roofs, heating and air conditioning, electrical, plumbing and paving across 68 school buildings.
What it would cost a household
The county put the average household’s extra sales tax at $162 a year. It set that against about $94 a year in possible property tax relief for a homeowner with a car. That leaves a net cost of about $68 a year, or less than $6 a month, by the county’s figures.
The relief depends on a promise the ballot cannot make. The board has signaled it would consider cutting the real estate tax rate by 2 cents and the personal property rate by 10 cents if the tax is put in place. Those cuts would need a separate vote, the county said. After those cuts, the county puts the net school money at $50 million to $55 million a year.
If it fails
A no vote means the county does not get the authority to levy the tax through this referendum, the county’s page said. It did not say what would happen to the six projects.
What it means for you
- The 1 For Schools question is on every Chesterfield ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
- Early voting runs through Saturday, Oct. 31. The Central Library at 7051 Lucy Corr Blvd. is open, along with five branch libraries, including Clover Hill Library at 6701 Deer Run Drive and LaPrade Library at 9000 Hull Street Road, the county said.
- The deadline to request a mail ballot was 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. A mailed ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and reach the registrar by noon Nov. 6.
- Midlothian Middle families would see their building replaced only if the tax passes and the board then adopts it. The county has not published a construction date.
Find your polling place and the rest of the ballot on our Midlothian voting guide. See current rates on our property taxes page and school details on our Midlothian Middle School page and schools guide.
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