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After months of planning, the Polk County School Board has unveiled the referendum it wants to put before voters in the next general election.
Board members voted 6-0 on Tuesday to approve tentative ballot language that would:
- Levy an additional 1 mill in ad valorem property taxes for four years.
- Allocate 80% of the revenue to salary increases for teachers and school-based staff.
- Allocate the other 20% to school programs.
- Share proceeds with charter schools, as required by law.
- Create a 14-member citizens’ oversight committee to monitor spending.
“We’ve been working on this for a minute now. It’s nice to see it finally coming to fruition,” said Kay Fields, who represents District 5.
Next steps: There must be a public hearing before the ballot language can be finalized. It will take place during the regular board meeting at 5 p.m. on Sept. 9.
School board members plan to vote on the final wording immediately following the hearing.
They will then send the ballot language to the Polk County Commission for approval. If the commissioners agree, it will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026, election ballot.
For teacher and staff recruitment and retention, career and technical education, school safety, arts, and early learning purposes, shall the School Board of Polk County, Florida levy an additional 1.0 mill in ad valorem taxes annually from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2031 with 80% being focused on salaries and 20% on the program areas listed with proceeds shared with charter schools as required by law and monitored by an independent citizens’ oversight committee?
Why it matters: The school district has struggled to recruit and retain teachers, and one of the reasons often cited is low pay. Despite a large salary increase last year, Polk County teachers earn about $10,000 less annually than their colleagues in Hillsborough County.
That gap grew wider after Hillsborough voters approved a millage referendum last year to provide across-the-board raises of $6,000.
“This is about our teachers and our staff. Strong teachers make stronger classrooms, and that’s what our kids deserve.”
School board chairman william allen
Millage referendums for school funding appeared on ballots in 26 Florida counties last year. Voters approved all but one.
How much is 1 mill?
Property taxes are calculated using a millage rate. One mill — 0.1 cents or one thousandth of a dollar — translates to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.
For homeowners: The average market value of a home in Polk County is $284,419. Assuming the standard $50,000 homestead exemption, the average taxable value becomes $234,419.
The school district currently levies a property tax of 3.79 mills for operating expenses and 1.5 mills for capital improvement, making a combined total of 5.29 mills. That’s about $1,240 per year for the average homeowner in Polk County.
Another mill for pay raises would add $234 a year from 2027 through 2031, bringing the total to $1,474 annually.
For the school district: District staff estimates that a 1-mill increase would generate $72 million to $80 million a year.
Details of the 80% set aside for salaries would have to be negotiated with the unions that represent educators and support staff. Those talks would include whether all teachers should get the same amount and whether it should be part of the base salary or a supplement.
The 20% earmarked for programming would include funding for fine arts, school safety, workforce and career education programs, and full-day instead of half-day pre-kindergarten programs.
District 2 Board Member Travis Keyes noted that the 20% would also help employee morale. He reminded the board about air conditioner outages that plagued the start of the 2023-24 school year.
“More money in the pocketbook every month is a good thing, but the quality of the atmosphere that you’re in is certainly part of that overall picture, too,” Keyes said.
He added that the independent oversight committee will ensure transparency and accountability. “We’re going to make sure that we’re doing things efficiently and under the public eye.”
Public hearing about millage proposal
- When: Sept. 9 during the board meeting that begins at 5 p.m.
- Where: School Board auditorium, 1915 South Floral Ave., Bartow, FL 33830
- To contact your school board member: Visit the school board’s web page, which includes a map of the districts and each member’s phone number and email address.
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Are teacher salaries normally dependent upon property taxes, or just this pay raise?
Hi, Bob. Public schools in Florida get funding from three sources: local property taxes, state legislative appropriations (including lottery funds) and federal grants (including Title I and IDEA for special education). That last category was frozen briefly by the Trump administration, but then released shortly before school began.
State and federal funds are usually earmarked for very specific things and don’t go into the general fund. So teacher salaries are most likely from local property tax revenue, which can vary a lot depending on how affluent a community is. Palm Beach, Naples and Boca Raton would generate more property tax revenue than Polk County.
You can find the exact budget breakdown on the school district’s website. Many Florida counties have used millage referendums to be able to pay better salaries.
I’d like to know the percentage of students opt for charter schools and the percentage for public. Also the percentage homeschooled and those opting for privare school.
My wife retired from the school board in 2019 after a20 yr. career as a para-professional. She did it because she loved the kids. Not because of the salary. If she wasn’t married to me she couldn’t have lived off the salary she was paid. I believe teachers desrve more money. Hopefully if the 1 mil is approved by voters I better see all that money going to teacher and para-professional salaries. Period. Nothing else. Polk County has had tremendous growth over the the past 10 yrs. My #1 question is what did they do with all the tax dollars collected because of the tremendous growth??? It btter not be for new schools. We the taxpayers have been and extra 1/2 cent sales tax since 2003. I know my wife saw wasted dollars over her 20 yrs. The increases in my wife’s salry over the 20 yrs. sure didn’t reflect it. How many school superintendents has the school board had in the last 25 yrs.?? At least 4 maybe more. We as taxpayers have no idea where the tax dollars were spent over the last 20 yrs.