The Hillsborough County Commission must allow a one-mill tax referendum to appear on the November 2024 ballot, voiding the original blockage, a Tampa appeals court judge has ruled, affirming a lower court decision.
“They sent a clear message today that this decision will be up to the residents of Hillsborough County,” said Superintendent Van Ayres in response to the Aug. 19 ruling, underlining the crucial role of the Hillsborough and greater Tampa community in shaping the future of the county's education system.
The Hillsborough school board originally approved putting the millage—a tax rate used to calculate local property taxes—on the November ballot in April. Estimates predicted the one-mill tax referendum would raise $177 million in additional funding and revenue for the Hillsborough County Schools district.
According to the school district, the bulk of that money would fund teacher salaries, school support staff and updated student resources.
As citizens, we need to be concerned that the system who allows us to speak to a very important issue has been shut down.”
The school board has since been blindsided. While the school board was prepared for the education referendum to be included on the upcoming November ballot, the Hillsborough County Commission voted on July 17 to delay including the education referendum on the ballot until 2026.
The Hillsborough County Public Schools board voted to take legal action against the county commission for blocking the contentious tax referendum on July 23.
“I think that as citizens, we need to be concerned that the system who allows us to speak to a very important issue has been shut down,” said Renalie DuBose, a professor at Cooley Law School with a nearly 45-year background in the U.S. public education system.
“Hillsborough County is the seventh-largest district in the nation with over 200,000 children going to school every day, and we need to give every one of those children the best opportunity possible to have a high-class education.”
Advocates of the education referendum, including local educators, state government or general voters, argue the decision will subject Hillsborough County teachers and other staff to an additional two years with some of the lowest salaries in the state.
After the Hillsborough County Board filed claims against the county commission, the case was transferred to the Second District Court of Appeals.
As is the case repeatedly with election ballots, some voters already have their minds made up, while others still have a chance to level the educational playing field for students and teachers within the Hillsborough County Public Schools.
“We have over almost 183,000 students, and my goal is to ensure that we have phenomenal classroom teachers, but I sit here right now and I’ve got over 400 vacancies that I currently sit with,” said Hillsborough Superintendent Van Ayres.“Over the next few months, it will be our responsibility to educate the community on the need for the additional funding and how the money will be spent to ensure every student in our district has the best classroom experience possible.”
