The Broward County School Board and a local voter have filed a lawsuit against County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi to try to recover $5.5 million that the school district alleges was improperly withheld from a voter-approved referendum.<\/p>\n
The suit, filed in Broward Circuit Court, also seeks a judgment requiring that the tax collector\u2019s office can withhold collections in the future \u201conly after proper disclosure to voters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The school district learned in January 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 voter-approved referendum.<\/p>\n
The referendum was passed in 2022<\/a> to enhance employee salaries, safety and security and mental health. The district is asking voters to renew the referendum on Nov. 3.<\/p>\n Joining the district as a plaintiff is James L. Sparks, a Broward resident, homeowner and voter, who lives in West Park.<\/p>\n The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 8, states that Sparks supported the referendum in 2022, which levied a property tax of one mil, which is equal to $100 per $100,000 in assessed property.<\/p>\n Sparks \u201crelied upon the representations that every penny of the additional millage would be used for Broward County Schools \u2026,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cTaxpayer standing is well-established under Florida law, which recognizes the right of individual voters\/taxpayers to seek injunctive relief to prevent the improper diversion of public funds.\u201d<\/p>\n District officials said that prior to the creation of the tax collector\u2019s office, the county\u2019s financial office collected money from the 2022 referendum as well as all referendums prior to that, and never withheld a commission.<\/p>\n Board members said they were unaware of this expense<\/a> when they approved the district\u2019s annual budget last year, and the district has already been dealing with more than $90 million in cuts due to a huge enrollment decline.<\/p>\n The district claims that Ajayi used the $5.5 million \u201cto inflate her own budget by more than one-third,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe voters of Broward County approved the millage as a trust for the exclusive benefit of education, with the reasonable expectation and understanding that the full proceeds of their approved tax levy would fund classrooms, operations, teacher compensation, and educational programs \u2014 not the Tax Collector\u2019s ever-increasing overhead,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n The School Board agreed during a May 19 meeting to authorize district lawyers to pursue legal options<\/a>, including litigation, to try to recoup the money.<\/p>\n On May 26, the school district made a public records request for financial information relevant to the use of the funds but had not received the documents, the lawsuit said. The district still hasn\u2019t received the documents as of Thursday, a district spokesman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.<\/p>\n \u201cBroward County voters approved these funds to support our teachers, students, and schools, not to subsidize the Tax Collector\u2019s Office,\u201d School Board member Adam Cervera told the Sun Sentinel. \u201cAt a time when our district faces significant financial challenges, we cannot afford to lose a single dollar intended for public education. These dollars belong in the pockets of our hardworking teachers, not in the coffers of the Tax Collector\u2019s Office. I will continue fighting to ensure every dollar is recovered and those responsible are held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n An email from the tax collector\u2019s communications office said, \u201cDue to pending litigation, we are unable to comment on the matter at this time. We will address the issues through the appropriate legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n But the office did provide extensive comments after the School Board signaled its intent to sue in May, issuing a three-page news release titled, \u201cBroward County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi Calls Out the Broward School Board for Misleading the Public.\u201d<\/p>\n