The Broward County Tax Collector’s Office has launched a public relations effort to defend itself against complaints from the school district about withholding $5.5 million in voter-approved referendum dollars.
The office issued a three-page news release this week titled, “Broward County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi Calls Out the Broward School Board for Misleading the Public.”
The release, posted on its website and featured in posts and paid ads on social media, said that Ajayi’s office has already disbursed $3.2 million “in unplanned revenue interest to the School Board, offsetting the $5.5 million in dispute.” A school district spokesman would not confirm that amount.
The School Board voted on May 19 to authorize its lawyers to take legal action against Ajayi’s office, questioning its decision to keep a 2% commission, equal to $5.5 million, from revenues collected last year from a referendum used to pay for teacher and employee supplements, safety and security and mental health.
Board members say they’d never been charged this fee until the tax collector’s office was created in 2025 and they were ill-equipped to absorb it since they are facing more than $80 million in budget cuts due to enrollment declines.
The release said the fees are required by statute, and the district shouldn’t use taxpayer resources to threaten legal action against the tax collector’s office.
“It is disingenuous for the Broward County School Board to attribute its financial management issues to the Tax Collector’s Office,” Ajayi said in the release. “The Office is not responsible for their budget shortfall, nor for their failure to follow their own published guidelines.”
The release said the Florida Department of Revenue has reviewed the Broward County Tax Collector’s governing statutes at their request and agreed it’s the school district’s responsibility.
The tax collector’s office shared with the Sun Sentinel an email from Rachel Goldstein, a chief legal counsel with the Department of Revenue. The email said the fees for non-voted tax dollars are paid by the County Commission, while school taxes approved by voters would likely be the responsibility of the school district.
“It appears, only the commissions on categories of nonvoted school millages are subject to payment by the board of county commissioners,” Goldstein wrote. “Absent any interlocal agreements to the contrary, under statute, commissions for categories of school millage that are voted millage appear to be the financial responsibility of the governing board having charge of the financial obligations of such district.”
School District spokesman John Sullivan told the Sun Sentinel that the district still hopes the issue can be resolved.
“The School District remains focused on protecting resources that directly support students, teachers, and schools,” he said. “While we respect the role of the Broward County Tax Collector, we are disappointed there has not yet been a meaningful opportunity to discuss a resolution that could benefit the community and support our schools. Given the financial challenges facing public education, we believe it is important to explore every option to maximize resources for classrooms and students, while protecting the taxpayers who voted for the referendum for that purpose.”
Sullivan said school officials are ready to meet with the tax collector to resolve the dispute.
School Board member Adam Cervera, who has been particularly critical of Ajayi, posted a scathing response on social media after reading the tax collector’s news release.
“Every dollar matters. Every dollar means resources for students, support for teachers, and investment in our children’s future,” Cervera wrote. “Abbey Ajayi should be ashamed. No government office should be comfortable keeping money out of our schools while spending time and energy defending the decision publicly and promoting its own record.”
While the current year’s dollars remain in dispute, the question of fees may get resolved for future years. The state Legislature passed a tax bill in its recent special session that, among other things, requires the county commissioners to pay tax collectors’ commissions on school millage collections. The tax collector can also waive commissions on voted school millages. The bill has been sent to the governor’s office.
A member of Ajayi’s communications team said in an email to the Sun Sentinel, “We are aware of the statute amendment consideration. Not to be confused with current fiscal year matters.”