Albemarle Supervisors move forward with sales tax referendum

On July 15, Albemarle County became the fifth locality in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission to take some action on the pursuit of a referendum this November to ask voters if they support a sales tax increase for school construction.

“At present the county funds most of its capital improvement program needs through tax revenues and bond issuances,” said Andy Herrick, the Albemarle County Attorney. “But this dedicated one percent tax would diversify the revenue and support school capital projects.”

The sales tax brought in an actual amount of $26,631,311 in FY25 and is projected to bring in $27,155,743 in FY2026, slightly above what had been projected.

The enabling authority for the referendum states that the additional one percent would not apply to food or personal hygiene products. Assistant Chief Financial Officer Andy Bowman said Albemarle is factoring that in.

“We’re confident we have a floor of at least $20 million,” Bowman said. “We know it wouldn’t be the full 27, but we wanted to share this information with the board as it considers decisions tonight for just the order of magnitude of what this would look like.”

Supervisor Mike Pruitt of the Scottsville District stated his personal opposition to the tax and said he would probably vote against it in November. But he understood the capital needs of the school system.

“I think this is the worst tool to accomplish what we’re trying to do, personally,” Pruitt said. “I think sales tax is probably the most regressive tool that a local government has.”

Pruitt also said that many people paying the tax commute in from other areas because they can’t afford to live in Albemarle.

Supervisor Fred Missel of the Samuel Miller District said he understood Pruitt’s points but supported moving forward because of the high number of people who visit the area as tourists.

“There are other folks that are coming to the county that are spending money here that can’t afford to see another bump,” Missel said. “And I also think that it’s a critical component of our capital stack for the future of our school system.”

Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley of the Rivanna District said she supported putting the idea out to the voters but suggested she could support waiting to hold the referendum in another year. She wanted to know more about what the school system needs.

“Frankly I wish we knew how much money the schools need… in order to be able to renovate the schools so that we can have top notch schools, we can have the amenities that they need for our children?” LaPisto-Kirtley asked. “I think that’s extremely important. We don’t have that number.”

Albemarle County Public Schools have a Long-Range Planning Advisory Committee that meets quarterly. Their most recent recommendations are from October 23, 2025. Take a look here.

At the end of the 20-minute discussion, Pruitt ended up casting a yes vote to move forward with the petition to the Circuit Court. Supervisor Sally Duncan of the Jack Jouett District was not present at the meeting.

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