The district’s 1-mill ad valorem tax is up for renewal after initially passing in 2022.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County school board is expected to vote on whether to put the 1-mill ad valorem tax on the 2026 ballot. Voters initially approved the 1-mill property tax increase back in 2022, and voters will get a say on whether to renew the tax for another four years.

During an Agenda Review meeting with the school board in February, Duval County Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier laid out his plan for the money the district could receive from continuing the 1-mill ad valorem tax.

“Some people will vote for teachers to have more money. Some people will vote for new athletic helmets. People have different priorities, and they’ll go to the voter booth depending on what their priorities are,” Dr. Bernier explained.

This is not a new tax nor would it raise taxes. 

Dr. Bernier estimates the district will receive roughly $121 million a year if voters decide to renew the 1-mill during the upcoming election. He said that money will help pay for things such as teacher salaries, arts programs, and improvements to athletic facilities, including stadium upgrades and better equipment.

If it does not pass, Dr. Bernier said the district would have to take money away from other areas of the budget to cover teacher pay.

“The salary nut is about somewhere between $60-70 million, that would be unique…so Mr. Fagan and I have been planning and talking and thinking things through. If it doesn’t pass, how we will continue to make sure we can compensate our people?” Dr. Bernier said.

Some parents in Duval County are in favor of renewing the 1-mill tax. Katie Hathaway, whose children attend schools in the county, said she wants to make sure the district is keeping good teachers.

“Strong public schools strengthen our entire community. They are educating our children, our future workforce. They employ our friends and our neighbors. And they contribute to our property values and they provide children, every child, fantastic opportunities. So this is about an investment in our district,” Hathaway said.

A few school board members had questions ahead of Tuesday’s meeting about whether the money could go to other district employees, such as safety personnel.

“I don’t think we can say that security and safety is our top priority, but not consider that our security staff, our SROs are telling us we can’t live on this, we need them, we wanna keep them, and so a lot of the way that we communicate value to our staff members is through pay,” Melody Bolduc said during the February Agenda Review meeting.

If the board approves the resolution Tuesday night, it heads to the Jacksonville City Council for a vote. City council is only voting on whether to place the referendum on the ballot, not on the contents of the referendum.

From there, the school board will determine how it plans to educate voters about the 1-mill.