Hillsborough schools will ask voters to increase property taxes to raise teacher salaries

TAMPA, Fla. - In a 4-3 vote, the Hillsborough County School Board agreed to add a referendum to the August primary ballot that will ask voters to increase their property taxes in order to raise teachers' salaries.

The referendum would be to add 1 millage, which is a rate used to calculate property taxes, for education funding. If it passes, homeowners would see their property taxes increase based on their assessed home values.

For example, according to the district, taxes on a $100,000 home would increase $75 a year, while homes valued between $500,000 and $1 million would see their taxes go up between about $400 and $1,000. All homeowners would see some type of property tax increase.

"My hope is that they will understand the value of education and that we've all been contacted in a positive manner by a teacher," Superintendent Addison Davis said. "We always remember our educational experiences. It's the foundation of everything we do. I hope that our voters will really go and take a serious look about how we properly incentivize all of our staff." 

Board members were almost evenly split about whether to ask for more money from homeowners, who are already spending more due to inflation and soaring property values.

"You can't talk about the affordable housing crisis in one hand and then say you're going to raise property taxes in the other because those raises in property taxes directly impact what the renter's market is going to be," said board member Dr. Stacy Hahn.

In 2018, voters passed a half-cent sales tax referendum for school infrastructure improvements, including deteriorating air condition systems across the district.

Davis said this additional funding would go directly into the paychecks of staff and, he believes, help the district fill hundreds of vacancies.

Board member Melissa Snively, however, worries the district hasn't yet fully regained public trust after overcoming a massive budget deficit that saw the state threaten to take financial control of the school system.

"I don't believe, in my opinion, that we are quite where we need to be to have gained enough trust," she said.

Other board members agreed with Davis, who pointed out there are 4,000 teacher openings across the state and Hillsborough Schools needs to stay competitive when there are a limited number of applicants.

"We have to look at the larger picture, and we have to look at investing in what's most important and that's our students," said Board Chair Nadia Combs.

"This is more about, in my mind, supporting teachers, our staff, our bus drivers," added board member Lynn Gray.

Davis said he wanted this referendum to be on the August ballot because Hillsborough County leaderse are considering asking voters to pass a transportation tax referendum in November.