FAQs

A nationwide shortage of teachers and support staff is impacting thousands of students in Leon County.

• XYZ students started the school year without a permanent full-time teacher.

• XYZ students arrive late to school each day due to the bus driver shortage. 

• Neighboring school districts and businesses in the community offer much higher pay. 

Voters in school districts surrounding Leon have approved a millage, allowing them to attract top employees. 

• This gives Leon’s neighbors $XYZ million in extra money to spend on competitive pay.

• A millage would cost a typical Leon homeowner $275 a year, or about 75 cents a day. 

• All of the funding from a millage would stay here in Leon County to benefit our students.

A millage in Leon would allow us to compete on behalf of our students.

• Teachers would receive a $6,000 salary supplement per year, with $3,000 more for support staff such as bus drivers and student nutrition workers, and $6,000 more for administrators such as principals and assistant principals. 

• Those salary supplements would result in an 11% increase in pay for the average teacher or support staff member. 

• Proposed expansions to academic programs include extended learning and the arts, college and career readiness, and athletics and P.E.

Education has a direct impact on everyone, regardless of their level of involvement in schools. It results in higher incomes, better jobs, rising property values, and a healthy economy. The children who sit in our classrooms today are the people who will soon handle your medications and repair your car. Our parents, grandparents, and neighbors paid for education for each of us—we have a lifetime obligation to invest in the next generation. 

The impact of education reaches far beyond our schools: 

• Quality schools preserve and improve property values. 

• Strong schools attract companies with high-paying jobs. 

• Investing in one of our county’s top 3 largest employers, which supports our county’s economy. (excluding state/city govt agencies)

Transparency and oversight are included in the referendum to make sure the money is spent exactly as promised. 

• An independent oversight committee will review every dollar spent, similar to the successful Half-Penny Sales Tax Citizen Oversight Committee.  

• Public reporting is required for all spending. 

With a nationwide shortage of teachers, the average campus in Leon being more than 35 years old, and a massive increase in the need for funding for employee pay, maintenance and air conditioning, and new school construction is magnified in Leon County. 

The existing local and state taxes dedicated to schools put Florida at 50th out of the 50 states for spending on teacher pay and benefits, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and do not generate the income needed to maintain facilities and construct new classrooms. 

This is why 45 of Florida’s 67 counties—covering 96% of Florida’s population—have voted for an additional local property tax, sales tax, or both to support students with additional local funding dedicated to schools. 

By law, property taxes and sales taxes fund different parts of a school’s budget. 

• A property tax (or millage) can be used for employee pay and academic programs. 

• A sales tax, such as Leon’s Half-Penny Sales Tax, can only be spent on buildings and maintenance. 

• So, a school district like Leon, with substantial needs in both the employee pay category and the building and maintenance category, would need both types of local investment—a property tax and a sales tax—to address both categories. 

The cost to a typical homeowner would be $275 a year, and it would lead to a proposed salary supplement of $6,000 more a year for all teachers; with $3,000 more for all support staff, such as bus drivers and student nutrition workers; and $6,000 more for administrators such as principals and assistant principals.  

Combining the salary supplements with existing salaries would place the total pay for first-year teachers above most neighbors, and the pay for an experienced ten-year teacher above all neighboring counties. These projected estimated supplements are separate and in addition to any annually negotiated salary increases.  

Our district has explored many alternative solutions. A millage referendum is a last resort. From eliminating positions, reforming our finances, adjusting zoning boundaries, repurposing schools, and cutting all non-critical expenses, which have saved millions of taxpayer dollars. 

But belt-tightening and fat-trimming can’t compete when our neighbors have a millage, giving them access to hundreds of millions of dollars of extra cash each year to spend on out-competing us for top talent.  

Our district has already taken drastic steps to reduce spending. 

• We have eliminated more than XYZ positions in the past decade based on our student enrollment numbers. 

• We have repurposed schools and adjusted school boundaries in a process to decrease underutilized schools.

Our district has reformed how it:  

• Approves or denies new hires and expenses. 

• Projects student enrollment and assigns teachers to classrooms. 

• Authorizes capital expense transfers.  

• Right-sizes its workforce. 

The financial overhaul has resulted in:  

• Operating with a balanced budget.  

• Our fund balance is healthy and stable.  

• Receiving clean independent audits.  

• Our bond rating—a grade from outside agencies on the district’s financial health—has been upgraded from an A- to an A.

To compete on behalf of our students with neighboring counties that already have a millage, our district would need more than $XYZ million in revenue each year.   

As the Tallahassee Democrat/Tallahassee Reports wrote in Month/Year: “Critism quote goes here” 

Fiscal Responsibility 

• Our district has reformed how it:   

  • Approves or denies new hires and expenses.  

  • Projects student enrollment and assigns teachers to classrooms.  

  • Authorizes capital expense transfers. 

  • Right-sizes its workforce.  

• The financial overhaul has resulted in:   

  • Operating within a balanced budget.   

  • Our fund balance being healthy and stable.   

  • Receiving clean independent audits.   

  • Our bond rating—a grade from outside agencies on the district’s financial health—has been upgraded from an A- to an A. 

Half-Penny Sales Tax Success 

• In 20xx, voters approved a Half-Penny Sales Tax for 15 years, which can only be spent on buildings and maintenance, not on competitive pay for teachers or other academic programs. 

• Our district has used these taxpayer funds responsibly to create a substantial impact on students—investing $XYZ million to date, with XYZ air conditioners overhauled or replaced and more than XYZ million square feet of aging roofs replaced, in addition to other significant projects at schools.   

• ​A Citizen Oversight Committee reviews every dollar spent. The independent committee is made up of respected community leaders who meet every three months and issue public reports on the results. 

Right-Sizing Our Workforce 

• To use taxpayer dollars as efficiently as possible, our district has eliminated 3,360 positions over the past decade. 

• This totals 1 out of every 8 positions in our district.​ 

• When a position opens after an employee’s departure, that position may be reviewed and eliminated if appropriate. 

No. The state has lowered Leon’s tax rate for schools every year since 2012. 

• Leon’s tax rate for schools has gone down from XYZ mills to XYZ mills in that time. 

• So even if Leon voters approve a millage referendum for 1 mill, our county’s tax rate for schools would still be far lower than just a few years ago. 

This is incredibly urgent for our students. 

• The same increases you may be seeing in cost of living—are impacting the educators, counselors, bus drivers, nurses, security officers, and student nutrition workers who our students are counting on.

• Our students deserve high-quality teachers in every classroom. So, our district needs to have competitive pay, right now, to compete with our neighbors and the other career options that are drawing great people away from our district.  

Fund balances in the general fund are the district’s reserves against revenue shortfalls, emergencies, and other unplanned needs, and are required by state statute. Having a health reserve has also increased our bond ratings from an A- to an A. 

By gathering these funds, a millage would raise an estimated $24-26 million to support our students each year. 

• A projected $20.4 million would be invested in schools operated by Leon County  Schools 

• A projected $3.6 million would be invested in charter schools, as required by state statute.  

• Revenue amounts are projected estimates for fiscal year 2027-28, when the funds would first be available for use; the projected amount for charter schools is based on student enrollment and is current as of [Enter date here]

Of the estimated $24M for district schools:  

• Our recommendation is that 92% would be dedicated to competitive pay

  • Working with our employee groups, our recommendation is for teachers to receive a salary supplement of $6,000 more a year, with $3,000 more for support staff such as bus drivers and student nutrition workers, and $6,000 more for administrators such as principals and assistant principals 

• 8% is proposed for academic programs 

   

  • The millage will also help us to enrich our educational programs for our students.

    • If approved, we will add a full day of VPK for Leon County School students – providing early learning opportunities so students are better prepared when entering kindergarten.

    • We will hire a College and Career Counselor at Every High School - With almost 10,000 high school students across our district, the need for this life-changing guidance is tremendous

    • We will add new Sports Options and P.E. Equipment - Adding new sports options for students and replacing worn physical education and recess equipment

    • And we will create Learning Field Trips for Every Grade - taking students beyond classroom walls at no cost to students, including transportation.

Voter-approved in 2022 - Pasco has a 1.0 mill.(after approx. 10.5% to charter) - 100% non-administrative salary supplements.

Voter-approved in 2004; renewed in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 - Pinellas has a 0.5 mill.(after approx.7% to charter) - 74% teacher salary supplements, 26% other topics like classroom libraries, technology, training, literacy and field trips.

Voter-approved in 2018, renewed in 2018 - Manatee has a 1.0 mill.(after 18.2% to charter) - 62% teacher salary supplements, 18% support staff salary supplements, 7% administrator salary supplements, 13% STEAM, CTE

Voter-approved in 2018, renewed in 2022 - Miami-Dade has a 1.0 mill.(after 25.1% to charter) - 88% teacher salary supplements, 12% safety and security positions.

Voter-approved in 2018, renewed in 2022 - Broward has a 1.0 mill.(after 19.9% to charter) - 72% teacher and support staff salary supplements, 20% safety and security positions, 8% mental health and guidance positions.

Voter approved in 2010, renewed in 2014, 2018, 2022 - Orange has a 1.0 mill. (after 8.7% to charter) - 60% preserve academic programs & retain teachers, 33.7% protect arts, 4.7% protect athletics, 1.6% protect activities.

This information comes from the Leon County Property Appraiser’s Office.  

With a millage, property owners pay $1 for​ every $1,000 in taxable value. 

As an example, the value of a typical home in Hillsborough is $300,000.​ 

Taking out the $25,000 homestead exemption would equal $275,000 in taxable value for schools.​ 

Using the formula above ($1 for every $1,000 in taxable value), the cost to a typical homeowner would be $275 per year,​ which averages to about 75 cents a day. 

The role of the school district is to educate, not advocate. Community members may choose to organize an advocacy campaign in the coming months—any advocacy campaign would be operated by community members and operated separately from the school district. 

Our district already follows Florida’s laws to ensure appropriate class sizes for core subjects like reading and math. A millage aims to make sure the students in those classrooms have high-quality, full-time teachers every day.  

Our district asks about this in exit surveys, but most respondents simply select “personal reasons,” regardless of their actual reason for leaving. 

• Across the country, school districts are facing a nationwide teacher shortage. 

• In 1990, 1 in 10 college students majored in Education to become teachers. 

  • By 2021, only 1 in 25 college students majored in Education. And it’s been that way for a decade. 

• As of September 2024, we have XYZ teacher vacancies.   

• The results of a Leon Classroom Teachers’ Association survey show: 

• 2/3 of teachers have considered leaving our district in the past 24 months  

  • Nearly 9 out of 10 personally know a teacher, support staff member, or administrator who has left because of pay 

• The number of teachers leaving the district before retirement has seen a steady increase in the past five years. (See chart below) 

• Teachers – Around 10% of our teachers just started with us this year.

  • As of September of 2024, we have over 2,400 teachers in our district.

• Principals – More than 10% of our principals are brand new in the role this year.

  • Since 7/1/2023, XYZ principals have been appointed new to the role in our district, out of 43 current principals.

This is separate and in addition to any negotiated salary increase. Other neighboring districts make this clear in their negotiations and on their salary schedules. Our district will be able to add the supplemental increase. Our district intends to make agreements in advance with union partners.

Most lottery money goes to college scholarships – known as Bright Futures. In fact, lottery money makes up less than ½ of 1% of our district’s budget. 

Impact fees are for capital expenditures only. For building new schools or maintenance on existing ones.

If passed, Amendment 3 could raise sales tax revenue for the state of Florida. The governor would have to include any additional funds for education from that revenue in his budget.