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Guilford County residents asked to vote on quarter-cent sales tax to support teacher pay

Guilford County residents are being asked to vote for or against a new quarter-cent sales tax this election. 

For individuals, the proposed increase would mean an extra five pennies on a $20 purchase. For the county, it could generate an estimated $25 million. 

At a recent meeting, Guilford County Schools Superintendent Whitney Oakley pointed out that the tax would also apply to visitors. 

“That would be all the people that come to Guilford County to do things like the furniture market, the Tanger Center, sporting events, the Wyndham Championship, concerts," Oakley said.

County commissioners have agreed to put the proceeds toward increasing the local supplement for teachers and classified employees. 

The tax would not apply to everyday items like gas, groceries or medicine.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

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