The Broward School Board has authorized its lawyers to take legal action against County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi over her office\u2019s decision to withhold $5.5 million from school referendum dollars.<\/p>\n
The action, approved Tuesday, allows General Counsel Kathy Dupuy-Bruno\u2019s office to \u201cpursue any and all legal avenues and any and all tangentially related actions\u201d on behalf of the school district, \u201cincluding but not limited to initiating conflict resolution and\/or formal litigation against any party, relating to the recovery of the commissions withheld by the Broward County Tax Collector and \/or others,\u201d according to the agenda item.<\/p>\n
School Board members became livid in January after they learned<\/a> that the tax collector\u2019s office, which started operations in January 2025, had withheld the $5.5 million, or 2% of the $275 million generated annually from a referendum that voters.<\/p>\n The referendum was passed in 2022 to enhance employee salaries, safety and security and mental health. The district is asking voters to renew the referendum<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n District officials said prior to the creation of the tax collector\u2019s office, the county\u2019s financial office collected the money and never withheld a commission.\n<\/p>\n As a result, board members said they were unaware of this expense when they approved the district\u2019s annual budget last year, and the district has already been dealing with more than $80 million in cuts due to a huge enrollment spike.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is incredibly disheartening that it has to come to this, but we owe it to the taxpayers, and we owe it to our families to make sure that the money that people voted on is going towards our teachers and our safety and security and mental health,\u201d Board member Rebecca Thompson said.<\/p>\n Thompson said she thought litigation might be a good idea when she saw that the Sarasota School District was suing the Sarasota Tax Collector\u2019s Office<\/a> over a similar issue.<\/p>\n Ajayi\u2019s office said in a statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, \u201cThe Tax Collector\u2019s office remains committed to working with the School Board and all Broward County entities. Transparency, accountability and reliable public service remain the core of our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n