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The Need

Our students deserve:

  • To have their bus arrive at school on time.

  • A high-quality and consistent teacher in their classroom every day.

  • A positive learning environment where they can thrive.

To ensure students have the support and resources they need to be successful, we must retain and recruit the best staff. We need to keep the absolute best teachers in our classrooms, the top principals and assistant principals leading schools, and exceptional bus drivers, student nutrition staff, custodians, security officers, and others to serve our students.

The challenge is that Leon County Schools has far less funding than other similar-sized school districts to offer competitive pay for teachers, administrators, and support staff. We cannot compete to retain and recruit staff, which results in a higher number of substitute teachers and vacancies we are unable to fill.

The impact on our students:

The number of staff vacancies is creating barriers for our students. It has a real impact on their everyday learning:

  • We have more than 150 bus driver vacancies*, causing many students to arrive at school late each morning and lose quality instructional time.

  • We have more than 500 teacher vacancies*, which means many of our students do not have a high-quality teacher in their classroom.

  • Several of our school administrators, the leaders who set the school culture and expectations, have left for other districts.

    *As of 7/18/24

We are behind other school districts.

School districts across the state have faced this same challenge. To address this, voters in 25 of Florida’s 67 counties have approved a millage referendum to provide additional funding to pay their teachers and support staff more.

Leon County is the only school district remaining in the North Florida Region with over 30,000+ students that does NOT have an additional millage to support its schools. 

For more than a decade, the State Legislature has allowed school districts to bring referendums to voters to provide more revenue for their local schools. Multiple North Florida and Panhandle school districts already have voter-approved operating millage referendums.

Voters in local districts surrounding us have already approved a millage referendum including:

  • Escambia County (Pensacola)
  • Franklin County (Apalachicola area)
  • Gulf County (Port St. Joe area)
  • Jackson County (Marianna) 
  • Taylor County (Perry)
  • Walton County (DeFuniak Springs / South Walton)

As well as others 

  • Alachua (Gainesville)
  • Clay (Orange Park)
  • Duval (Jacksonville)
  • Franklin (Appalachicola/St. George Island)
  • St. Johns (St. Augustine)
  • Taylor (Perry)
  • Walton (Santa Rosa/Defuniak Springs)

.A millage would support all Leon County School students by addressing hundreds of teacher and support staff vacancies and expanding academic programs. Leon County would be joining a funding approach already used successfully by neighboring and peer districts across North Florida.

Approximately 63% of Florida public school students attend districts with a voter-approved additional operating millage referendum.

A millage is a promising solution.

If voters approve the millage on November 3rd, it will allow us to compete on behalf of our students.

  • Teachers would receive a salary supplement of $6,000 more 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.

  • Expansions to academic programs, including extended learning and the arts, college and career readiness, and athletics and P.E.