Hillsborough County residents may get to vote this November on a tax referendum that would fund additional teacher and staff pay.
The one millage property tax would generate about $177 million.
A similar ballot measure lost by a narrow margin in 2022.
Superintendent Van Ayres said this is another chance for Hillsborough voters to support their schools.
"This is a desperate time for us, we have a huge number of vacancies, this is what keeps me up at night," said Van Ayres, speaking to board members during the Tuesday workshop. "It's a challenge that we're facing and I would not be bringing this if this did not help us address that challenge."
The district is looking to fill about 442 teacher and 200 bus driver positions.
Ayres linked the vacancies directly to the district's wages being low compared to other districts in the greater Tampa Bay region.
Of the five largest school districts in Florida, Hillsborough is the only county that does not levy the additional one mill for operating costs — the funding bucket that most teacher and staff salaries come from.
Voters in surrounding districts such as Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota and Manatee have also passed similar referendums.
This puts Hillsborough at a disadvantage, said Ayres, who laid out that the district's starting teacher salaries are lower than those in the four surrounding counties.
"I have teachers that are leaving, employees that are going to other counties because they’re just looking for an additional two to three thousand dollars."
A survey of school administrators conducted in February showed that 70% of those who participated considered leaving for another district, charter, private school or the field of education entirely in the last 2 years.
A similar survey conducted by the teachers' union showed that 65% of participating educators considered leaving as well.
Average bus driver salaries are also lagging behind and contributing to the driver shortage, Ayres said. About 600 bus drivers are working 800 scheduled routes, so some drivers are having to take multiple routes.
"We have students that are not making it to school on time," said Ayres, "We've got to get a grapple on that ... I cannot have students late to first period every day."
How would the tax work?
A millage is $1 for every $1,000 of a home's value.
So, with the county's average home value of $375,000 and appropriate homestead exemptions, the cost to the average homeowner would be $350 — about $1 a day.
The millage would raise about $177 million each year, with about $150.4 million going to district-operated schools and the remaining to charter schools.
Most of the money (92%) will go directly towards raising teacher and staff salaries.
- $6,000 each year for teachers
- $3,000 each year for support staff
- $6,000 each year for administrators
The referendum must be renewed by voters every four years. Otherwise, the salary supplements could be taken away.
The remaining 8% of funds will support students through extended learning and the arts, expanded sports options and college and career readiness.
The extra funding would also place a college counselor at every high school, according to the district's plan.
"That will be a game changer especially when we talk about preparing our students for life," said District 3 representative Jessica Vaughn. "One of the biggest challenges is navigating the financial aid process or how to apply for college."
What's next?
The school board is scheduled to vote at its April 2 meeting whether to put the question before voters in November.
The board previously discussed the tax referendum last fall and tabled the vote to April after requesting a more detailed plan for the funds.
After a similar tax proposal failed by less than 1% in 2022, some board members said that it was crucial district leaders show a united front. That year, the board voted 4-3 to place the referendum on the ballot.
A majority, or 50% + 1, of voters must approve the tax for it to pass.
Board members also said they wanted to make it clear to voters that the tax will be funding teacher and staff salaries. A separate half-cent sales tax approved in 2018 paid for air conditioning and other types of capital improvements only.
