POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A delay in voting for a referendum to potentially raise property taxes for Polk County residents has sparked concern and left some upset.
The extra funds would provide a raise in pay for teachers and staff across the Polk County public school district for the next four years.
Polk County Public Schools has directed the Polk County Board of County Commissioners to vote in favor of the referendum, but commissioners voted to delay the matter at a meeting on Tuesday.
Per Florida law, the board of county commissioners is required to vote to approve it and send it through to the supervisor of elections.
“The timing of this is horrible. This thing is going to be sitting on a ballot and the next referendum to be voted on is to abolish property taxes in some form,” said Commissioner Bill Braswell of District 3 at Tuesday’s meeting ahead of the vote to delay. “At the same time, I’m going to vote for it because, like you as you [David Mink, attorney for the Board of County Commissioners] said, I’m not going to waste our tax dollars fighting this thing when a court, two courts have ruled that we really don’t have a say.”
Commissioner Braswell is referring to a similar matter that occurred in Hillsborough County, where its Board of County Commissioners was ordered by both a circuit court and an appeals court to place a school property tax referendum on the ballot for Nov. 5, 2024.
The board voted unanimously to have the matter carried over to their meeting during the first week of January.
“They’re only role in this is administrative– to move this to the supervisor of elections, so that the voters of Polk County can decide if we’re going to invest money from Polk County into Polk County,” said Stephanie Yocum, president of the Polk Education Association.
Yocum told News Channel 8 the potential increase in pay for teachers and staff would provide a boost in the County’s economy.
“It gives us, as teachers and educators and support staff, buying power to support our local economy when we actually have money to spend,” Yocum said.
News Channel 8 spoke with District 1 Commissioner Becky Troutman on the matter, who explained that greater transparency is needed for the public.
“The optics appear that we, the Board of County Commissioners, are levying attacks to the residents of Polk County, which is not at all the case,” said Commissioner Troutman. “I don’t believe that is fair to the taxpayers or to the county commission or to the school district, who is asking to levy the tax that the voters question and wonder, where is this tax coming from?”
The school board sent News Channel 8 a statement on the matter:
We are disappointed that the County Commission chose to postpone its vote on the referendum.
Ultimately, we are confident that both legal precedent and state statutes show that the Board of County Commissioners is obligated to place the referendum on the ballot. We remind the county that the Polk County School Board’s authority to govern public education derives from the Florida Constitution, as well as the Florida Early Learning-20 Education Code, and the School Board is a local government body of equal dignity, rank, and jurisdictional authority.
The language below confirms the county attorney’s position and understanding of this obligation:
- Legal Citation: “WHEREAS, the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida in the case of Hillsborough County v. School Board of Hillsborough, 395 So3d 1116 (Fla. 2d DCA 2024), held a board of county commissioners duty to set a referendum directed by a school board pursuant to the School Board Millage Statute is purely a ministerial task and the board of county commissioners must call for the referendum as directed by the school board.”
- See Florida Statute 1011.73(2): https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=1000-1099/1011/Sections/1011.73.html
Bottom line, the Florida Legislature decided that a county commission must perform the purely ministerial task of setting a referendum for a public vote when directed by a school board. The simple fact is that the Polk Board of County Commissioners must call for the referendum.
For months, we have made this known to the County Commission’s legal office.
We have repeatedly asked if someone from the school district needed to be present at the County Commission’s meeting to state on the record that this is a ministerial task, and the County Commission is duty bound to place this matter before voters.
However, we were never asked to have someone attend yesterday’s meeting.
If a school representative needs to be present for the County Commission to fulfill its obligation to call for the referendum, we will be there. We are more than willing to share information as to how the funds will be disbursed and audited by a community-based finance committee. However, this is neither required by statute, nor is this an indication of the school district seeking approval from the BOCC for the referendum.
This referendum is an important matter for voters to consider. Similar referendums have been approved throughout Florida to help recruit teachers and employees, as well as retain existing staff.
Using the County’s Single Family Residence (SFR) the “average assessed value” of $284,419 – which was the figure used during the County’s July 2025 budget workshop – for the average homeowner in Polk County would see an increase of $259.42 in his or her property taxes if local school millage increases by 1.00000 mil from 2.24800 mills to 3.24800 mills.
Current estimates indicate that a 1 mil increase would generate approximately $80 million:
- Of this, charter schools will receive approximately 18% (based on their enrollment), or $13.6 million. (It is important to note that proceeds will be shared with charter schools as required by law)
The remaining $66.4 million will be spent as follows:
– 80% or $53.1 million: school-based staff retention and recruitment bonuses
– 20% or $13.2 million: special program supports for fine/performing arts, school safety and security, workforce development/career and technical education, early childhood development
This will be monitored annually by an independent citizens’ oversight committee. The oversight committee will review budget allocations, financial reports, and funding priorities to ensure transparency, fiscal responsibility, and alignment with the district’s strategic goals.
Despite their individual preferences or beliefs, we expect the BOCC to honor their constitutional and statutory obligations and move to approve this item no later than Nov. 18, 2025 to ensure that Polk County voters have the right to be heard on this issue.
Superintendent Fred Heid, Polk County Public Schools
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