Broward schools teacher pay referendum faces a tougher test this year
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While the Broward Schools tax referendum has had widespread support since its passage in 2018, the controversial property tax amendment on the same ballot could complicate its renewal.
Why it matters: If the referendum isn't renewed, the school district says it would lose $358 million a year in funding and several teachers would lose more than $10,000 in pay.
Flashback: The first referendum at a half-mill rate passed in 2018 with 64% of the vote.
- Four years later, 57% of voters approved the new referendum that increased the tax to the current one-mill rate and extended funding to charter schools.
- It's a $1 tax for every $1,000 of taxable property value.
Follow the money: The referendum supports $173 million in supplemental pay for teachers and eligible staff, 393 school safety personnel, more than 224 mental health professionals and $1.7 million in safety software to provide staff with wearable panic buttons.
- Because of affordability issues and enrollment decline, 90% of money from this year's renewal would go to teacher supplements, up from 75%.
- For the third year in a row, Florida ranked last in average teacher pay at $56,663 — nearly $18,000 less than the national average, according to the National Education Association
The latest: The renewal will appear on the ballot alongside Amendment 3, the proposed property-tax overhaul that would raise the homestead exemption and reduce property taxes across the state.
- This presents a challenge as voters may be hesitant to approve a tax while considering property tax cuts.
- School leaders have emphasized to voters that this isn't a new tax: "It's a renewal of an investment our community first made in 2018," Superintendent Howard Hepburn says.
- Voter confusion over the two items has also become a concern of public school officials statewide who rely on similar referendums.
Context: A state law went into effect in October 2022 that required local referendums on property tax increases to be held during a general election, not a primary election as was done previously.
What they're saying: "We have to be able to compensate teachers in a way that allows them to stay," School Board member Maura McCarthy Bulman tells Axios. "The idea that our excellent teachers will have to look elsewhere because they can't afford to live here is just a travesty for our entire county."
- During a recent appearance on "This Week in South Florida," Hepburn said local referendums are crucial because Broward Schools is a donor district, meaning property tax revenue gets redistributed statewide,
The bottom line: The referendum needs more than 50% of the vote to pass.