Miami’s school tax is up for a vote. An unlikely, and broad, coalition supports it

In Miami-Dade, it’s rare to find an issue where the teachers union, charter school operators, elected officials, the superintendent of public schools, the police union and the state’s leading parent-teacher association are aligned.

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But on Tuesday they voiced — in unison — their support for a ballot referendum this November to keep a tax that funds teacher pay and school security.

“This amendment transcends politics because it’s about children. At the end of the day, children aren’t looking at politics, and our future is our children,” Miami-Dade Superintendent Rafael Villalobos said at an event hosted by a political committee supporting the referendum held at J.C. Bermudez Doral Senior High School.

A lot of money for public schools in Miami-Dade County is on the line. To be exact, $569.5 million, per district budget estimates.

Most of that money will be directed toward teacher salaries. Florida public school teacher are the second-lowest paid in the country, according to the National Education Association, and Miami-Dade is one of the nation’s most expensive counties. Of the $569.5 million, about 88% is expected to go toward teacher salaries and the remaining 12% would support security.

The tax equals one “mill” — a legal term used in taxation that amounts to one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.

In Miami-Dade, the median taxable value for homes is $177,141. For that homeowner, a regular tax bill would be around $3,0000, and the school tax that’s up for a vote would cost about $177 a year, according to Herald calculations . That’s roughly 6% of the total tax bill, which funds schools, countywide services, and municipal and state services

The more than half-billion-dollar amount is no small figure for a district operating on a roughly $7.4 billion budget – and possibly facing additional budget cuts if enrollment does not increase by next month.

The tax has been in effect for years, but it must be reapproved under Florida law. Miami-Dade voters overwhelmingly passed similar referendums in 2018 and 2022.

Speaking in support of the referendum, listed as ballet item No. 268 were District 5 School Board Member Danny Espino and District 13 County Commissioner Rene Garcia. They framed it as an exercise in self-governance.

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“I’ll tell you this: as a Republican, I’m one that doesn’t really like taxes. None of us like to pay taxes, but the reality is that we need to make sure we give people the ability to choose whether or not they want to tax themselves,” Garcia said.

Speakers from the United Teachers of Dade, the county’s public school teachers union, argued the referendum funding was integral to the current health of the district and its future.

Antonio White, the union’s president, noted that Florida ranked 47th in the country in state per-pupil spending on education.

“This referendum is not a luxury or an extra. It is actually the heartbeat that keeps this district running… Our communities across this state understand that state funding alone is simply not enough these days,” White said.

It’s not just traditional public schools that benefit from the tax. More than a quarter of the funds – just over 27%, per a district estimate – will go to charter schools.

Many of the speakers emphasized the negative impact on the schools, and the greater Miami-Dade community, that would occur if the referendum were to fail.

Villalobos focused on the district’s ability to attract high-level teachers.

Jude Bruno, a Miami-Dade parent who is president of the Florida PTA, said not approving it would hurt the county’s overall bottom line.

“Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the largest employer in the county. That means the renewal of this referendum is not only an investment in our teachers and our officers, but it is the largest economic investment we can make in our local economy,” Bruno said.

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