Voters in Leon County will see another tax initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot as the school board approved language for the community to decide if they want to pay more in property tax to support public schools and boosting teacher and staff pay.
The motion for a formal green light on the ballot resolution passed May 27 with a 4-1 vote sending the measure to the county commission to be added to the ballot.
Voters currently pay roughly $1,500 to $2,000 a year in property taxes for schools covering operational expenses. Now the board is asking for a single mill, about $200 a year out of the pocket of the average homeowner, to improve teacher compensation, school safety and school enrichment programs.
“Our students in Leon County Schools cannot continue paying the price for chronic underfunding from the Florida legislature,” LCS media specialist Heather Garcia said. “This millage increase is not about luxury, it is about stability. When the state falls short local communities are left to decide if they want to show up for their children.”
Officials noted there are currently 29 counties across the state that collect property taxes to cover gaps in operating expenses, specifically teacher salary.
Veteran kindergarten teacher Shari Gerwanter said the tax hike, which could raise as much as $24 million, is an investment in public schools, one that the local community would be willing to pour into.
“I believe the public who supports our public schools will vote for this,” Gerwanter said. “This investment will go a long way in shoring up our Leon County Schools, bringing much needed relief to our dedicated and struggling teachers and staff and allocating funds for safety and security that we need to keep our public schools strong.”
The vote comes weeks after the board approved a separate half penny sales tax initiative for the ballot, which would be dedicated for school renovations, maintenance and transportation.
The sales tax is separate from the property tax in that it is only applied on retail purchases where sales tax is collected.
The sales tax, which tourists also pay into, was first implemented in 2002 and was previously renewed by Leon County voters in 2012. Now it is up for renewal, and Superintendent Rocky Hanna has already started campaigning the initiative that brings in about $30 million a year to cover construction projects and safety and security equipment.
Hanna has expressed his enthusiasm about the sales tax, and a local pollster recently expressed optimism that both measures would pass.
But at the meeting, school board member Laurie Cox expressed her concerns about a tax exhausted constituency.
“I really am struggling with asking our taxpayers for more even though the cause is a good one,” Cox said. “I don’t think the timing is right for this.”
Cox voted against the ballot initiative.
Board member Rosanne Wood expressed her excitement for the request.
“We’re not asking for a million dollars, we’re asking everyone to pay 1% of their appraised value of their home and in exchange for that we are talking about making significant increases to our teachers and to our bus drivers and our custodians,” Wood said.
She said the ballot initiative is an opportunity to let the community decide “if we value public schools enough to put our money where our mouth is.”
Wood said she feels the district has made “cuts to the bone” and won’t be able to make up the money on its own.
“I want to express my reluctant support for this measure,” school board member Alva Smith said. “I was a teacher when I joined this board and have shared that the majority of my platform when I first ran in 2014 was to increase teacher salaries and I feel like I’ve been a dismal failure at that.”
Leon County Schools is ranked low in the state in teacher pay among 66 districts. Smith called the statistic devastating.
She added: “I am unhappy about the way this is coming to us. I would have felt more confident about supporting this measure had there been school consolidations, had there been administrative building consolidations and downsizing and had there been administrative downsizing within the district.”
The vote comes after the board approved $7.8 million in budget reductions in hopes of relieving any financial pressures in the future caused by underfunding from the state, a decline in student enrollment and a rise in costs of operations.
Smith has been very vocal about downsizing to save significant costs, even considering closing schools with enrollments under 70% of its capacity.
“I feel that we have not done all that we can do prior to going to the community,” Smith said.
By approving the ballot language the board now leaves the choice in the hands of Leon County voters.
Alaijah Cross covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at abrown@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: School Board votes 4-1 for property tax hike plan to boost teacher pay
Reporting by Alaijah Cross, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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