It's Thursday, AKA Friday Jr.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 90 and a low of 71.

Sounds like: "Small Town," Dominic Fike.

Today’s newsletter is 1,066 words — a 4-minute read.

Hillsborough County Public Schools is counting on voters to renew a half-cent sales tax that, if approved, is expected to yield between $121 million and $131 million a year for maintenance.

Why it matters: Keeping Hillsborough County's schools in good repair is no small feat, and it comes with a steep price tag for the third-largest district in Florida and seventh-largest in the nation.

Catch up quick: When the referendum went before voters in 2018, Hillsborough County Public Schools had about $1 billion in deferred maintenance, with air-conditioning systems among its chief concerns.

• Since then, the tax has financed more than $1.3 billion in repairs and improvements, helping replace aging air conditioners, fix leaky roofs, build new playgrounds and more.
• About $716 million in contracts for that work has been awarded to local businesses, according to the district.

Driving the news: The tax expires in two years, and the district says more than 1,000 projects still need to be completed.

• It's the second tax the school district has put before voters in two election cycles. The last was ultimately approved, but not before the County Commission opposed it and took the district to court.
• The taxes serve different purposes: The 2024 millage increase largely funds teacher and staff pay, while the half-cent sales tax can only be spent on school buildings and maintenance.

Between the lines: Voters in Hillsborough County will have several big questions before them in November.

• In addition to the half-cent sales tax, they'll decide whether to overhaul the state's property tax system, elect their school superintendent and expand the County Commission.

What's next: The school board will host town halls on the half-cent sales tax on Tuesday at Gaither High School and Thursday, Oct. 1, at Hillsborough High School, from 6 to 7pm.

• A virtual town hall is also scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14.

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Florida's gubernatorial candidates' stances on statewide issues like property taxes, housing and immigration came to a head yesterday — albeit separately.

Why it matters: The candidates won't be debating before the November election, but they each spoke during an economic forum hosted by WLRN, South Florida's public radio station.

Between the lines: Each candidate had 30 minutes with Hudson. Here's what each said on the most pressing issues:

Amendment 3

The measure would drastically reduce property taxes in Florida, lowering homeowners' tax bills, but would cost local governments billions.

Donalds will vote yes.

• "When they raised the homestead exemption 25 years ago, [county] services didn't go away."
• "I do acknowledge that fiscally-constrained counties [are] our problem." He suggested creating a state "funding formula" for those counties to rely on "a consistent flow of revenue."

Jolly acknowledged that residents are "desperate" for lower taxes, but doesn't think the math works.

• "It will create a crisis" and hurt the smaller municipalities, he said.
• He supports a first-time homebuyer exemption and said the state should consider local control of homestead exemptions.

Immigration

Donalds said the immigration system "has to be one based upon legal immigration with assimilation, period, full stop."

• Donalds said he disagreed with GOP Rep. Maria Salazar's message to President Trump saying his immigration crackdown had gone too far.

Jolly would not renew DeSantis' state of emergency regarding immigration, which the governor issued in 2023.

Data centers

Donalds, who has accepted campaign donations from companies behind data center growth, said local governments have the final say.

• "As governor, we're not going to preempt that," he said. "And we're not going to let utility bills increase because of a data center. And we want to keep them away from people's homes."

Jolly supports a one-year moratorium on data centers in the state and a third-party economic impact study. "Let the other 49 states build them."

• "75% of Florida" doesn't want them, he said, and "that should be enough" to put a pause on them, adding the environmental and economic impacts are still unknown.

Zoom out: If elected, Donalds said he'll focus on housing affordability, developing "real workforce training systems for juniors and seniors in high school" and the environment.

Jolly said he'd focus on housing, health care and education, and an overhaul of the state's appointments process.

• He said he'd fire Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and choose someone who believes in evidence-based science.

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📺 St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist have agreed to a televised debate ahead of their Nov. 3 mayoral runoff. The Oct. 13 debate will air live and stream free on YouTube. (Tampa Bay Times)

⚖️ Two men who supplied the fentanyl that killed an 18-year-old student at the University of South Florida were sentenced this week, with one receiving 21 years in prison and the other a life sentence. (Times)

🪧 Hillsborough College will unveil a historical marker at a building on its Ybor City campus that, over nearly a century, has served as a meeting hall for six fraternal lodges and as the newsroom of La Gaceta. (Press release)

🚰 Temple Terrace is moving forward with a $73 million water-treatment project to remove forever chemicals from its drinking water ahead of new federal limits taking effect in 2031. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

🗞️ The Florida State Board of Administration, which manages pension funds for state and local government employees, sued The New York Times yesterday over its coverage of Israel. (Florida Phoenix)

• The state holds more than 160,000 shares of Times stock.

The average renter in Tampa Bay pays over $1,000 less a month than someone who owns a home in the region, per a new Zillow report.

Why it matters: As the region's home prices remain steadily high, it's more evidence that renting might be the way to go for some people.

By the numbers: The typical renter in Tampa Bay pays $2,001 a month, whereas the typical new home buyer pays $3,101 a month for their mortgage, insurance and taxes.

• Over the course of a year, that's a $13,200 difference.

🎧 Yacob can't wait for Dominic Fike's new album.

🤒 Kathryn is back in action after a sick day.

This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.