A dedicated penny on the sales tax can reduce reliance on property taxes for school construction and spread the cost across everyone who shops in a locality, including visitors. This November, voters in 47 localities will decide whether to use this funding option.
Voters in each locality decide whether to adopt the 1% sales tax. The new revenue stays in that community for school construction, renovation, and related debt service. Each locality's referendum stands on its own.
This referendum is a sales tax question. It does not change property tax rates and provides another way to fund school buildings without raising property taxes for those projects. Separate local budget decisions remain separate.
Code authority requires a defined term — typically up to 20 years — and limits the proceeds to schools. Localities can structure additional reporting and a sunset that retires with the bonds.
Roughly a quarter to a third of local sales tax in Virginia is paid by non-residents — tourists, commuters, and pass-through shoppers. A 1% on a $100 purchase is $1 — a small price for permanent capital relief.
SCHOOL FUNDING · LOCAL CHOICE
The school-construction sales tax gives communities another way to pay for school buildings. Local voters decide whether to adopt it, and the new revenue stays in their community for school capital needs.
Each locality makes its own choice at the ballot box. The tax takes effect only where voters approve it, and the new revenue stays local to support that community's schools.
The money is dedicated to school construction, renovation, and related capital-project debt. It cannot pay for teacher salaries, day-to-day school operations, or unrelated government spending.
A dedicated sales tax offers an alternative to relying on property-tax increases for school buildings. This measure does not change property-tax rates or prevent a locality from making separate property-tax decisions.
The research behind these benefits: Hart's survey found that local decision-making, money restricted to school buildings, and funding without raising property taxes made respondents more likely to support the referendum. Responses to these messages are not referendum vote shares. Read the public survey below for the questions and results.
“These results tell us voters are open to this. They just want the facts.”
Kristen Nye, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Virginians for Modern Schools
Hart Research Associates · 502 likely November 2026 general election voters · September 14–18, 2026. The survey covers the 47 referendum localities listed in the public topline, not Virginia statewide. Combined results should not be applied to any single locality. Approximate margin of error: ±4.4 points for the full sample and ±6.2 points for half-sample questions.
The September 29 release, Hart’s public survey results, and a voter FAQ explaining the school-facilities sales tax referendum.
The map shows 47 localities with school-construction sales tax referendums on the November 3, 2026 ballot, plus nine previously authorized localities. Approval to appear on the ballot is not voter approval of the tax. Click a marker on the map for details.
Virginians for Modern Schools is open to school boards, councils, boards of supervisors, superintendents, civic organizations, and individual residents who support local authority to fund modern schools.
