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HOUMA, La. (AP) — Terrebonne Parish School Board will ask voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to raise teachers' salaries.
The board voted Tuesday to put the tax issue on the Dec. 6 ballot.
Superintendent Philip Martin tells The Courier (http://bit.ly/1kmsOA50 ) the board will submit the action to the State Bond Commission.
Terrebonne residents pay a 9-cent sales tax, with a little more than 2 cents going toward the school district. Martin said the new half-cent tax will bring in about $12 million each year.
The average annual salary for the parish's public school teachers is about $46,000. Their last local raise came in 2007, and their last state raise was in 2008.
Last year, voters rejected a property tax that would have given raises to public school employees, but Martin said he will form committees to drum up public support for the sales tax. He said it is important to him that the proposition's language is simple and clear so voters can easily understand it.
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Information from: The Courier, http://www.houmatoday.com
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