Janelle Irwin Taylor
Voters in Pinellas County have overwhelmingly given their approval to keep paying a little extra on their property tax bills, and to double the rate that had been in place since 2004.
With about half of precincts reporting, nearly 68% of voters cast a ballot in favor of renewing and expanding the Pinellas Schools District local-option property tax.
The tax currently in place levies a 50-cent tax on every $1,000 of taxable value on a property. Tuesday’s vote renews the tax, and doubles it, to $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The increase will bring Pinellas County Schools in line with neighboring school systems and allow it to be more competitive in its staffing and retention efforts by nearly doubling existing teacher bonuses and expanding bonuses to school support staff. Additional funding will also be used to improve arts, reading and technology curriculum in public schools.
Pinellas County School Board member Laura Hine estimates the increased property tax levy will cost the average homeowner only about $10 per month.
Had the referendum failed, school officials worried there would be a mass exodus from Pinellas County Schools as teachers lost the nearly $7,000 in available annual bonuses. The existing property tax benefiting local public schools funds $6,328 a year in bonuses, as well as other various benefits, which would no longer be funded without renewal.
The tax would have ended after June 30 of next year had the referendum failed.
Passage comes as little surprise.
The property tax earned about 63% support when it was first brought to voters in 2004. Four years ago, when voters were asked to renew it, it garnered about 79% support.
And this year there was only limited opposition, from School Board candidate Stacy Geier — a Moms for Liberty-aligned candidate who argued the District should find a way to continue the bonuses and improve curricula without increasing taxes.
With mail votes partially counted and no precincts yet returned, Hillsborough voters appear to have approved another measure related to public school funding. Hillsborough County placed a 15-year renewal on the ballot this year to extend the Community Investment Tax. Under that tax currently, Hillsborough County Schools receives a quarter of the revenue. Under the renewal, the district would receive just 5%.
