Broward district is asking voters to double tax rate to boost teacher pay, school safety

Broward voters are faced with whether they want to increase their property taxes for the next four years to finance raises for teachers, hire more school security staff and bolster mental health programs in Broward public schools or pass on that proposition, given higher prices at the pump and in the supermarket aisle.

The Broward school district is seeking to raise about $227 million annually over the next four years, with about $177 million slated for traditional Broward public schools and $45 million for charter schools.

The bulk of the funds — 75% — would go toward raises for teachers and other eligible staffers. Up to 17% would be allocated for safety personnel and the remaining portion, about 8%, for mental health professionals.

Early voting begins Saturday, Aug. 13, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 23. Florida school boards set a property tax rate that generates local dollars for public and charter schools.

The referendum, which the district calls “Secure the Next Generation Renewal,” comes as the 2018 referendum that provided funding for these initiatives is set to expire. The referendum would run from fiscal year 2023 to 2027; it’s asking voters to increase their property tax rate from .50 mill to 1.0 mill, a 100 percent increase.

If the measure receives at least 50% of the vote, the homeowner with an average taxable property value of $390,000 would pay about $23 each month or $276 a year — double the 2018 cost. The condo owner with an average taxable property value of $190,000 would pay about $13 each month, or $156 per year, double the 2018 cost.

Broward is not the only school district asking voters to pay more this year for teacher compensation and school safety. The Miami-Dade school district will ask voters on the Nov. 8 ballot to extend its 2018 referendum that is set to expire in June.

The Miami school board is seeking to raise about $400 million for teacher salaries and school safety. If approved, the tax rate that applies to school taxes would go from $75 to $100 for every $100,000 of a property’s taxable value, a 33 percent increase.

READ MORE: Proposed tax increase for Miami-Dade Schools heading to voters in November

Other Florida school districts, including those in Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Martin counties, have also put referendums on the ballot for either August or November.

A catalyst behind these measures is a court decision earlier this year. In March, the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami ruled that charter schools are entitled to receive a slice of the money approved by Miami-Dade voters in the 2018 referendum. The three-judge panel of the appeals court overturned a circuit court ruling that said the Miami-Dade County School Board did not have to share money with the city of Aventura and Archimedean Academy, a Miami-Dade charter school.

The districts argue that if they don’t pass these new referendums, funding for teachers and school safety will decrease due to charter schools taking a cut of the funds.

Not enough state funding, Broward says

School districts raise funds through referendums because Tallahassee legislators don’t fund schools properly, said Broward Schools Superintendent Vickie Cartwright. To get additional money, school officials must ask local residents, she noted.

The Broward school district’s annual budget was about $4.8 billion for the 2021-2022 school year, up from $4.5 billion in the previous year. The school board will hold its final public budget hearing on Sept. 13, when it will vote on the budget. Broward County public schools is the nation’s sixth-largest school district with about 256,000 students.

The referendum in Broward would help recruit and retain teachers and stay competitive with nearby districts like Miami-Dade, Cartwright said. As of Aug. 4, the Broward school district had 280 instructional vacancies, compared to 525 at the same time last school year. In an Aug. 8 tweet — about a week before school starts — Broward Schools said it was still “actively recruiting” teachers, media specialists and counselors.

If the referendum fails, the Broward school district would lose about $112 million in annual funding — $21 million for about 540 school safety staffers, $9 million for about 100 mental health employees, and $82 million in compensation supplements to staff, including teachers and bus drivers.

In that case, the district would need to cut in other areas, such as student programming, to replace the referendum dollars because, Cartwright said, teachers, school safety personnel and mental health counselors are indispensable.

“We don’t have the luxury to cut back on that, so where are we going to find the money?” she asked. “Candidly speaking, for this referendum, this is something that’s extremely important. Without that, everything is on the table.”

Enough marketing?

Anna Fusco, the president of the Broward Teachers Union, said she feels the district could have publicized the referendum better, including holding a press conference sooner than July 26.

“It’s been put in our hands: ‘Here it is. Take care of it,’” Fusco said.

Teachers have helped publicize the issue.

“They know it needs to pass in order to have the extra money in their paychecks. They’re definitely on board with communicating to make sure they get out and vote,” she said. “Do they expect the school district to be doing more? Absolutely.”

Both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach school board referendums won’t be on the ballot until Nov. 8, Election Day.

But the Palm Beach County School Board already has agreed to hire a political consulting firm for nearly $400,000 to promote its referendum, according to the Sun Sentinel. It’s unclear how Miami-Dade Schools will sell its measure to voters.

The Broward school district says state law restricts them from swaying the vote one way or another, preventing school officials from mailing fliers directly to voters. John Sullivan, a Broward district spokesman, said the district has spent about $12,000 in Broward to print informational material.

The district, however, is using its website to get its message across. On the top of browardschools.com, there is a banner that reads: Secure the Next Generation Referendum. When you click on the banner, it directs you to information about the measure, according to the district’s point of view.