Commissioners vote to ask state to repurpose quarter-cent sales tax to boost school funding

The Gaston County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on April 28 to send a resolution to the county’s legislative delegation asking the General Assembly to authorize the repurposing of an available quarter-cent sales tax to provide supplemental funding for Gaston County Schools.

Commissioner Bob Hovis framed the proposal as a new revenue source distinct from property tax and said it "will net somewhere between 9.5 and $11,000,000" depending on economic conditions. He said the revenue could be used to close a $6.7 million gap in teacher supplements the board identified as necessary to reach peer-county averages.

Hovis told the board that repurposing existing sales-tax authority would require legislative action and then voter approval on the ballot; the board voted to add the resolution to the agenda and then to approve the request to the legislature. Chair Chad Brown called for an affirmation vote to place the item on the agenda and later recorded a unanimous vote on the motion to ask the General Assembly to modify the relevant statute.

County Manager Matt Roden and other commissioners discussed that sales-tax shares can shift based on municipal rates and that the county’s share of local sales tax revenue has declined in recent years. Commissioners asked staff to prepare materials and next steps — including the statutory deadline to act in time for a November referendum should legislative changes be authorized.

The resolution passed on April 28 is a request to the county’s legislative delegation; any reallocation would still require state statutory authorization and, per Hovis’s remarks, a voter referendum to take effect.