> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Should voters raise the sales tax to fund school maintenance? Here's what you need to know. - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/should-voters-raise-the-sales-tax-to-fund-school-maintenance-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ - Published: 2026-11-02T01:00:20.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-02T01:00:20.000Z - Description: Get up to speed on the potential sales tax increase for schools. - Author: Eleanor Shaw - Tags: Education, #lead Voters in Richmond City and Chesterfield County will decide Tuesday whether to increase the sales tax by 1% to create a fund used exclusively to build new public schools and renovate existing ones. The question will be the final one on the ballot, after other legislative races and the three proposed constitutional amendments for the state. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/sampleballot.jpg) How the wording will appear in Richmond (left) and Chesterfield (right). ### Why now? Virginia's General Assembly is allowing all localities to put this issue on the ballot for the first time. Statewide, [**47 localities**](https://cardinalnews.org/2026/09/08/47-localities-will-vote-on-sales-tax-for-school-construction-as-state-officials-prepare-to-reexamine-need/) will be putting the question in front of voters. ### What would be taxed? Any purchase where a sales tax is assessed. In Richmond and Chesterfield, the sales tax is currently 6%. Approving the ballot measure would raise it to 7%. Under state law, groceries, personal care items and basic hygiene products are exempt from sales tax. ### How long would the tax last? It would be in place for 20 years, at which time it would have to be re-approved. ### How much money would be raised? Chesterfield expects to raise $65-70 million a year, or about $1 billion over the next 20 years. In Richmond, which has a lower population, the city is estimating it would raise $50 million annually through the tax, or about $850 million total. ### What can the money be used for? Any revenue this tax raises can only go toward school construction or renovation. The state has barred localities from using the money for anything else. ### Will the money be spent incrementally? The short answer: almost certainly not. Richmond and Chesterfield have both indicated that if the referendum passes, they will issue bonds to borrow against future earnings. That means they would have a lump-sum amount of money to spend now, which would be paid down over the next 20 years. ### What do proponents say? Schooling is one of the government's most important functions, and cost increases over the past five years have left districts statewide in a financial hole on maintenance. Supporters are jazzed that these facilities could get new life breathed into them. Some buildings on Richmond and Chesterfield’s priority list are decades old and haven’t seen much upkeep. Generally, the argument is that better school buildings will lead to more effective learning. ### What do detractors say? Increasing taxes isn’t always popular, and both localities have asked their voters for money to fund schools in recent years. In 2022, Chesterfield won voter approval for school-focused funds in the form of a bond referendum. In Richmond, voters already feel the pain of a 7.5% meals tax, of which a portion is earmarked for schools. ### What are officials offering? Because Richmond's meals tax is assessed on top of the sales tax, Mayor Danny Avula has pledged to reduce the meals tax by 1% if the sales tax increase goes through, so the cost of prepared foods would not rise. In Chesterfield, county officials are promising a reduction of 2 cents in the real estate tax rate and 10 cents in the personal property tax rate. Both actions cannot be bundled with the vote itself, and would be taken up separately after the election. ### How will Chesterfield spend the money? Besides a dedicated maintenance fund, Chesterfield wants to construct new Dale and Old Hundred elementary schools, rebuild Midlothian Middle School, renovate Matoaca Middle School and L.C. Bird High School, as well as expand Thomas Dale High School. ### How will Richmond spend the money? Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras told reporters in July that the division won’t have a master facilities plan in place before the vote, but has since said that priorities will include a new Southside career and technical center and a new Woodville Elementary building. The district just finished hosting “Facilities Modernization Meetings” in each of the nine districts where residents prioritized how they would want to see the funds used. ### Why a sales tax? Advocates in both localities cite studies showing that as much as 30% of the sales tax is paid by people who do not live within the borders, meaning a share of the burden would fall on non-residents. Opponents feel a sales tax is regressive because the burden disproportionately falls on low-income earners, who are more likely to spend a higher share of their earnings on taxable goods. ### Read more here [Virginia localities weigh 1% sales tax for school construction as voters decide on expansion • Virginia MercurySix years ago, the city of Danville in Virginia’s Southside region struggled to raise funds for school construction and modernization across 15 schools, with nearly a quarter of its population, around 42,000, living in poverty. But since the state authorized the city to levy an additional sales and use tax of up to 1% for \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/cropped-virginiamercury-270x270-b96a18e1-9e85-4824-9041-ddae8b58ddb8.jpg)Virginia MercuryNathaniel Cline![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_9818-2048x1365-b7d86068-f2c7-40ba-9b90-4edd9c275e05.jpg)](https://virginiamercury.com/2026/10/05/virginia-localities-weigh-1-sales-tax-for-school-construction-as-voters-decide-on-expansion/) [New groups will lobby for 1% sales tax increase, as school districts aren’t allowed to themselvesState laws prohibit the localities from lobbying for its passage with taxpayer money.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-b7f8792b-86fd-4bb2-9a45-cf2abdcdbc28.png)The RichmonderEleanor Shaw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_2675-46f087b6-434d-41a4-b165-27eee8e4dee6.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/new-groups-will-lobby-for-1-sales-tax-increase-as-school-districts-arent-allowed-to-themselves/) [Avula pitches meals, property tax cuts to win support for sales tax for Richmond schools“If we're asking Richmonders to approve a new tax, then we should also look for every opportunity to pair that with a reduced tax somewhere else.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-4f6ca4f5-aff2-447d-9a9e-a00c3e4346c8.png)The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/1--conf-6-6ec01506-4a49-4f13-815a-91146fa0f76d.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/avula-pitches-meals-property-tax-cuts-to-win-support-for-sales-tax-for-richmond-schools/) [Chesterfield Board proposes property tax cut if 1% sales tax increase for schools passesThe proposal would cut the real estate tax by two cents, to 87 cents per $100 of assessed value.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-bdb57fba-f77a-4f3b-8bde-131223dc16ab.png)The RichmonderEleanor Shaw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/D80NW4--1--a042b15c-e7ea-40dd-a967-951fd1c4d08a.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/chesterfield-board-proposes-property-tax-cut-if-1-sales-tax-increase-for-schools-passes/) [RPS won’t have facility spending plan in place before November election“I actually think it’s a good thing in a way that we have the opportunity for the city to weigh in and to share what they believe the priorities should be as we take the next step with this fund.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-1fd6d762-b1ab-4b11-96c6-8486cb6e066c.png)The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/Richmonder_Education_Final_102924-4-75db5827-8427-4f99-8282-a23a923706e7.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/rps-wont-have-facility-spending-plan-in-place-before-november-election/) *Contact Eleanor Shaw at* [*eshaw@richmonder.org*](mailto:eshaw@richmonder.org)*. She is a Report for America corps member. Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at* [*vifatusin@richmonder.org*](mailto:vifatusin@richmonder.org)*.*