Collection to begin for school impact fees

File photo: A neighborhood development in southwest Marion County. [Alan Youngblood/Alan Youngblood Images]

Collection of school impact fees is set to begin on July 1 after an interlocal agreement was made between Marion County, the city of Ocala and the Marion County School Board this week.

In March, the Marion County Commission approved reinstating impact fees —one-time payments made by developers for each new home built to support the cost of building new schools. The county first suspended impact fees in 2011 during the economic recession.

School district staff has been working on finding a way to reinstate the fees since May 2022, when the school board was presented with updated statistics on student population growth and many schools’ issues with reaching capacity due to lack of space.

Under the interlocal agreement, the county is responsible for collecting impact fees for homes built in unincorporated Marion County, Belleview, Dunnellon, Reddick and McIntosh. The city of Ocala is responsible for collecting impact fees for homes built within city limits.

The agreement also requires the county to consult with the school board to review the impact fee ordinance every five years. If during review the agencies find that any updated information or a study is necessary, then the school board is responsible for the cost of hiring a consultant to perform a study similar to the Benesch consulting study that recommended school impact fees to be reinstated and projected the school district’s growth.

Impact fees are one way in which the school district plans to fund construction to keep up with the rapid growth of the student population in Marion County. Enrollment in Marion County Public Schools reached an all-time high of 45,651 in the most recent school year.

School district staff has recommended that five new schools and nine wings to additional schools be built by the year 2038 to keep up with the projected 9% increase in student enrollment. The projected cost of both new construction and maintenance by the year 2038 will total approximately $1.8 billion.

The school board also asked for a half-cent sales tax to be placed on the ballot in the 2024 general election. If approved for a 15-year period, the half-cent sales tax could bring in about $562.5 million in revenue for the district for construction by the year 2038.

Marion County currently has a sales tax of 7%. If voters approve a half-cent sales tax for schools, the tax will be added on top of the existing tax. The county’s penny sales tax for infrastructure and public safety, first approved by voters in 2016, will also be on the 2024 general election ballot to continue the tax for a term of 20 years.

Educational impact fee rates:

Multifamily (condominiums), per dwelling unit: $1,990

Single-family attached/townhouse, per dwelling unit: $2,020

Mobile home park, per dwelling unit: $2,866

Single-family detached/mobile home on a lot, per dwelling unit: $4,307

Multifamily apartment; 1 to 700 square feet: $1,604

Multifamily apartment; 701 to 900 square feet: $3,847

Multifamily apartment; 901 to 1,200 square feet: $4,337

Multifamily apartment; Greater than 1,200 square feet: $5,525