Broward County School Board members unanimously voted Tuesday to allocate about $254.3 million from a countywide referendum in November to support employees who work directly in schools and have a direct impact on students, including teachers, school-based administrators and school safety personnel.
If voters approve the Nov. 3 referendum, the distribution of the money would be determined through negotiations between union bargaining groups and the school district.
A smaller amount of money — 10% of the dollars approved by referendum, or about $28.1 million — would be shared among mental health, and security and safety personnel. The board would decide the portions to be split among the groups.
Voters will be asked if they’d like to renew a property tax increase they first approved in 2022 that’s equal to $100 per $100,000 in assessed property.
“ Everything that happens here in Broward County Public Schools is on taxpayers,” said board member Debbie Hixon at the meeting. “We’re a public funded entity, so we appreciate the additional taxes to be able to give teachers or employees supplements.
The latest National Education Association report on teacher salaries shows that — for the third consecutive year — Florida ranked at the bottom nationwide. It found the average teacher salary in Florida public schools was $56,600 in 2025, compared to the national average of $74,400.
The allocation percentage will guide how the district plans its budget and operation from 2028 through 2031.
This is the third referendum supporting security, mental health and employee pay. The first was in 2018 and limited supplements mainly for teachers. The 2022 referendum doubled the tax and went to teachers and staff, although was unspecific about what non-teacher roles were eligible until after it passed.
The school board voted in 2023 to exclude administrators with the highest salaries from the referendum. However, that limitation was removed in 2024 — without public input — stirring outrage when it became known that administrators who made more than $200,000 a year were receiving bonuses of up to $14,000.
In response, the board acted to quickly freeze the bonuses.
Hixon, along with School Board member Rebecca Thompson, were vocal about not receiving enough state funding.
A sharp decline in enrollment in the district in recent years has translated into fewer state dollars for schools, which also affects teacher pay.
Florida spent $13,487 per student, on average, for the school year that ended in 2025. The state’s budget for 2026-27 has not been approved. The fiscal year begins July 1.
