Will Pinellas ask voters to renew a special property tax for schools?

The voter-approved property tax that supports Pinellas County teacher pay, arts education and classroom technology is nearing its four-year expiration date.

If school district officials want to keep it, they will need to formally add it to the November ballot. Voters first approved the tax in 2004, but this year’s version could offer a new twist.

According to school board documents, administrators are proposing increasing the tax to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed taxable value, and providing some of the revenue to support staff for the first time. That’s up from the levy of 50 cents per $1,000 that has been in place for two decades.

School board members, though, have yet to discuss the subject, while other districts around the state —including Hillsborough and Hernando — have already committed to fall ballot initiatives. The board’s first conversation is set for a workshop Tuesday.

“Some research is going on in the background. But we have not talked about it as a board,” said vice chairperson Carol Cook. “We need it.”

As a decision nears, questions remain over whether the tax will survive its sixth campaign. Part of the concern centers on the reluctance demonstrated by two board members in adopting the district’s current budget.

Before voting against the spending plan, board member Stephanie Meyer argued that taxpayers were faced with the prospect of doing more with less during difficult financial times, and so too should the district. She and board member Dawn Peters opposed the tax rate as too high.

Meyer would not discuss the referendum when asked, saying she would make her views known at the workshop. Peters did not respond to inquiries about her views.

If the revenue stream ends, the district would stop the salary supplements that have gone to teachers for 20 years. This year, they get just over $6,000 each because of the referendum.

Arts programs, lessons and field trips paid for by the funds also would likely dry up without a replacement source, as would extra technology and reading materials and training. The referendum generated $60.3 million for these added expenses in the year ending June 30, 2023.

“Oh, yeah,” board member Lisa Cane said when asked whether she favored extending the referendum. “Or we’re going to start closing down very important programs.”

Chairperson Laura Hine signaled her intent to support the measure as well, citing the “overwhelming” voter support that has grown over time.

The referendum gained 80% of the vote for the 2020 renewal, despite concerns that economic struggles fueled by the pandemic might tamp down support. It surpassed a previous high of 76% of voters backing the referendum four years earlier.

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In its first attempt 20 years ago, the referendum secured 63% of the vote.

Pinellas, like a growing number of Florida school districts, has come to depend on local referendums to provide money beyond state allocations, which have grown but not kept up with inflation. Districts can use property taxes to support general operations, including salaries, and sales taxes to cover construction, renovations and other capital expenses.

Districts without the added revenue have found themselves at a competitive disadvantage with their neighbors that have one. Hillsborough, for example, is asking for a property tax this fall as a way to keep up with Pasco and Pinellas, which have the local resources to boost teachers’ pay.

Board member Eileen Long expressed hope that the referendum won’t become controversial.

“I think the public understands we use that money carefully, and it has benefited so many people in the district,” Long said.

An independent group of community members monitors the way the money is spent, and provides regular reports to the board and public. The committee reported in January that the funds have been used on current-year students “in a responsible manner.”

In addition to supporting district teachers and students, a share of the revenue has for the past four years also gone to charter schools, in accordance with state law. That sharing wasn’t always the case in the past, and a group of charter schools is suing for a piece of the income that came before the 2000 election.

Cook said she expected the board would place the tax item on the ballot, and not take the choice away from voters.

“It’s the people who decide whether they want to go through with it or not,” she said.