Hillsborough Schools Tax Referendum

A circuit judge has ruled twice in favor of the school board, but county leaders are still pursuing an appeal to take the tax referendum off of November's ballot. The court indicated it will have a final ruling by Aug. 19.

County leaders are refusing to place the school district's property tax question on the November ballot even after a judge's ruling telling them to comply. The district says it will fight back.

A judge ruled in favor of the school district, which filed a lawsuit after county commissioners voted to delay the referendum until 2026.

The lawsuit comes after the county commission unexpectedly voted to delay a tax referendum that would fund teacher salaries by two years.

A proposed local property tax increase could generate almost $180 million that would go mainly towards increasing teacher and staff pay.

Though the margin of defeat for the referendum narrowed a bit since election night, it still failed to pass by 590 votes, or .26%.

At a town hall early this month at Tampa's Pizzo Elementary, Hillsborough School Superintendent Jeff Eakins said the district was out of options and had…