Educators and school officials in Broward and Miami-Dade counties are urging voters to consider renewing property tax referendums that provide hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher and staff pay, school safety and other services across South Florida.<\/p>\n
The two school districts on Tuesday launched public information efforts ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, when voters will decide whether to continue the existing one-mill property tax levies.<\/p>\n
In Broward, the measure is known as the \u201cSecure the Next Generation\u201d referendum, while Miami-Dade\u2019s is called \u201cSecure Our Future.\u201d Both were previously approved by voters and currently provide additional funding for teacher compensation and school safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida is 50th in the nation in funding for teacher salaries. If the referendum is not renewed, the district would lose approximately $358 million a year,\u201d Broward County School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi said at a news conference.<\/p>\n
Broward County Public Schools says its referendum is a renewal, rather than a new tax or an increase in the existing rate. The measure would continue the one-mill levy from Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2030. One mill amounts to $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of taxable property value.<\/p>\n
If approved, the Broward measure is expected to generate approximately $358 million annually, including about $283 million for district-operated schools and $75 million for charter schools. At least 90% would go toward compensation supplements for teachers and eligible staff, while up to 10% would support school safety and essential programs, including mental health services.<\/p>\n
The existing Broward referendum currently provides approximately $173 million annually in compensation supplements. It also supports 393 school safety personnel, $1.7 million in safety software that includes wearable panic buttons for staff, and more than 224 mental health professionals.<\/p>\n
Broward Superintendent Howard Hepburn warned that losing the funding could make it more difficult for the district to retain educators.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if this was not to pass, teachers have choices, and we would lose top quality educators here in Broward County,\u201d Hepburn said.<\/p>\n
Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco also emphasized that the district has come to rely on the voter-approved funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been supported before; it\u2019s not new. We do depend on it,\u201d Fusco said.<\/p>\n
The referendum was first approved at a half-mill rate in 2018 before voters approved an increase to one mill in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty owners in Broward County are already paying this rate today; the referendum would continue the same one-mil rate for four more years,\u201d Hepburn said.<\/p>\n
In Miami-Dade, voters will similarly decide whether to continue a one-mill property tax levy. The current Secure Our Future referendum, approved in 2022, expires June 30, 2027. The School Board voted earlier this year to place its renewal on the Nov. 3 ballot.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade currently directs 88% of its referendum funding toward teacher salaries and 12% toward school safety, according to the district.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade Superintendent Rafael Villalobos said the additional compensation has helped the district compete for teachers in a region where housing and other living expenses are high.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you imagine if we didn\u2019t have this supplemental pay to make our teachers competitive enough to stay in Miami-Dade County Public Schools?\u201d Villalobos said.<\/p>\n
United Teachers of Dade President Antonio White described the referendum funding as critical to maintaining the district’s workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is clear, Florida ranks near the bottom nationally in education funding,\u201d White said. \u201cIn Miami-Dade, this referendum is not a luxury or an extra, it is actually the heartbeat that keeps this school district running.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Miami-Dade levy also dates to 2018 and was renewed in 2022. The district’s 2026 proposal would continue funding for compensation for teachers and instructional personnel and student safety and security, including at public charter schools.<\/p>\n
School officials in both counties say the measures are particularly important as districts compete to recruit and retain educators in South Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt starts with investing in our children. It starts in education. Education is the key component to all things that are successful in a community,\u201d Villalobos said.<\/p>\n
Broward County Public Schools plans to hold three public town halls on its referendum ahead of Election Day. Meetings are scheduled for Sept. 30 at Charles W. Flanagan High School, Oct. 7 at the K.C. Wright Administration Center and Oct. 14 at Monarch High School. All three are scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
A simple majority of voters is required for the Broward referendum to pass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Educators and school officials in Broward and Miami-Dade counties are urging voters to consider renewing property tax referendums…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-401399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}