Pinellas County School Board votes to send property tax increase referendum to ballot

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PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - The Pinellas County School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to ask voters to raise taxes for teacher pay in November. 

READ: Pinellas voters could decide on tax increase for teacher pay in November

The school board overwhelmingly voted 7-0 to approve a referendum on the November general election ballot, asking voters to add a half-millage to property taxes. The measure is intended to boost teacher pay. 

Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick introduced the ballot language at Tuesday's meeting. 

"We are the only Tampa Bay County without a sales tax to support public schools, and [we] do not have impact fees to support our schools either," Hendrick said. "We will continue the recruitment and retention of teachers as the major component of the referendum."

If approved, the measure will increase the property tax Pinellas County residents pay from one-half mill to one mill. Residents have been paying one-half mill, or 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, since 2004, and voters have approved its renewal every four years since then.

Hendrick said Beth Rawlins, of Citizens for Pinellas Schools, has been involved in this ballot initiative for over 20 years and called on her to speak on its importance. 

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"The proposed one mill will allow us to further expand the arts, music, technology, and reading programs that we have rebuilt," Rawlins said. "It will allow an even greater supplement for teacher pay so we can recruit and retain the very best for our classrooms. And with one mill, we can bolster our support staff, as well."

The tax increase would go into effect on June 1, 2025, and run through June 30, 2029.