TAMPA, Fla. — We're looking ahead to November when voters in Hillsborough County may see a referendum they've seen before. The district superintendent is pushing for a new property tax, of hundreds of dollars a year for homeowners, to raise teacher pay.
It would be an extra dollar for every thousand dollars a home is worth, so if your home is valued at $400,000, that's $400 more a year. Two years ago, a similar effort failed by around 500 votes.
Hillsborough County is the only county its size in Florida to not have the additional millage on property to go to local schools. Others, like Manatee and Sarasota, have higher teacher salaries, in part, because they impose additional millage on property.
The district says it would raise an additional $177 million a year and teachers would get a $6,000 boost. Other school employees would get $3,000 more per year.
"This is so we can make their salaries competitive to the surrounding counties around us,” Hillsborough County School Board Vice-Chair Jessica Vaughn said.
Before the plan can go to voters in November it must be approved by the school board. It's expected to vote on the referendum at its next meeting in April.
“Frankly the students' need is what we really have to remember,” Hillsborough Classroom Teacher’s Association President Rob Kriete said. “And think about their favorite teacher. Think how much they meant in your life. Would we want those teachers moving elsewhere?"