Hillsborough schools OK lawsuit against county over teacher pay tax

Tampa Bay Times | By Marlene Sokol | July 23, 2024

A judge will decide if the county commission must reverse its decision to postpone a planned tax referendum.

The Hillsborough County School District got the permission it needed on Tuesday to take the county commission to court over a proposed property tax that would increase teacher pay.

District leaders want to compel the county to reverse a July 17 decision that blocked a tax referendum from appearing before voters on Nov. 5. A 4-3 county commission majority voted to postpone the referendum for two years, citing concerns about residents who are suffering from escalating rents and home prices.

Tuesday’s school board vote was also 4-3. Dissenting votes were cast by Stacy Hahn, Patti Rendon and chairperson Karen Perez.

If the district prevails, voters will decide on a tax of $1 for every $1,000 in taxable property value. Proceeds, estimated at $177 million a year, would fund yearly pay supplements of $6,000 for teachers and administrators, and $3,000 for support staff.

The Supervisor of Elections must have a decision by Aug. 20 to prepare the ballot.

Such taxes and bonuses exist in most large and neighboring counties, placing Hillsborough at a disadvantage when it comes to teacher pay. At last count, there were 500 classroom teacher vacancies with schools reopening on Aug. 12.

Hillsborough County Public Schools superintendent Van Ayres speaks to the media after an emergency school board meeting on Tuesday in Tampa. During the meeting, the Board voted whether to authorize the district to sue the county commission, which recently blocked a tax referendum from appearing in the November ballot. [ DYLAN TOWNSEND | Times ]

The vote came after strong statements from board members.

“I am baffled,” Henry “Shake” Washington said. “In all my years in the school district, this has never happened to Hillsborough County Public Schools. This is unbelievable, people, and you know what? I’m pissed. We are elected officials too.”

Said member Jessica Vaughn: “I’m not sure when the word democracy became a dirty word or public education became an enemy.”

Vaughn said that if the question does not appear on the ballot, “it is our children who are going to suffer the most.”

Stacy Hahn, one of two members who have opposed the tax measure consistently, said she had asked superintendent Van Ayres to hold off on the referendum for two years so it would not compete with a county sales tax referendum that, in part, would support new school construction.

Hahn also said she had fundamental problems with the school district’s referendum, which is promoted as a remedy for teacher vacancies but would provide money to other district employees as well.

“You have every employee getting a piece of this bonus,” she said. “Even members of (Ayres’) own cabinet making six figures.”

Hahn said she wanted to cap the authorized legal expenses, and moved to establish a limit of $25,000. After some discussion, they voted on setting a $50,000 limit, but that motion failed.

Hahn also said Ayres should work on improving his relationship with county officials. Ayres said the relationship is very good. More importantly, he said, “I don’t need their permission to move forward with this referendum.”

Patti Rendon, who is also against the referendum, agreed that teachers should be paid more. But, she said, the question is whether the county commission had the legal right to delay the referendum.

She did her own research, she said, and concluded that legal statutes and an opinion by the Florida attorney general give county officials the authority to decide on the timing of the recommendation.

Vaughn said that even if the commissioners managed to find a legal standing that gives them the authority “they are abusing their authority.”

Around the state, there have been similar cases with different outcomes, leading education leaders to watch the Hillsborough case closely.

In 2019, a judge sided with the Clay County Commission on a similar referendum question. But the Clay case involved a sales tax, which is governed under a different law than property taxes.

Another judge in 2020 ruled against Indian River County commissioners who tried to move a property tax referendum from August to November. But, under a new state law, all such referendums must now appear in November.