LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Lafayette Parish voters will decide the fate of the school district’s half-cent sales tax when they head to the polls on Saturday, April 29.
Some residents have expressed concern that the district could be promoting the tax using taxpayer dollars or why is the Diocese of Lafayette — a private entity — supporting the LPSS tax?
The response from the Diocese of Lafayette is that the Bishop is not requesting Catholics to vote yes. The diocese says the Bishop is merely stating his position that he believes everyone benefits when educational opportunities are available. Plus, the Diocese states that not a penny of Diocesan funds were used to support the campaign.
LPSS Administrative Officer Joe Craig says the district spent about $5,300 on informational brochures and posters to educate the public on the tax. Craig says the video public service announcement on the LPSS website was done in-house and at no additional cost.
Jason El Koubi of One Acadiana explains they’re helping to fund the efforts. Last week, Koubi joined by the Diocese announced their support for the 10 year tax proposal. “We made sure that it was not only clear that One Acadiana supports it on principal but we also wanted to put our financial resources behind communicating to the public why this tax is so important,” adds Koubi.
Koubi says One Acadiana raised voluntary contributions from the business community. Koubi explains that the revenue generated from the tax will be dedicated to projects. In fact, the school district will be audited to ensure that happens. “We wanted to make sure that people understood that the funds will be subject to a third party audit that will be presented annually to the public,” says Koubi.
Joe Craig of LPSS explains the costs to taxpayers if voters approve the sales tax come April 29th. “If you’re looking at a $100’s in retail purchases, you will be looking at about 50 cents on every $100 dollars.”
The school district says no tax will be collected on purchases of food or prescription drugs.