Miami-Dade voters to decide if teachers keep their raises. What’s at stake?

Miami Herald | By: Austin Horn | October 13, 2026

At a moment when South Florida’s public schools are scrambling to deal with decreasing enrollment and funding reductions, a tax referendum that school officials say is an important lifeline is set to expire, and voters have a chance to extend it. On Nov. 3, Broward and Miami-Dade voters will choose whether to keep a tax that supplements teacher salaries and invests in school security, which expires next summer. For Miami-Dade County Public Schools a “yes” vote on the ballot item “School Board Referendum” means about $569.5 million annually for schools until June, 30, 2031. Vote no, and you’re essentially protesting the tax.

Local voters approved it by wide margins in 2018 and 2022. It’s on the ballot again because it needs to be re-authorized by voters every four years. It’s a consequential time for educators, students and families in Miami-Dade. The school board recently closed several public schools, and is eyeing more closures, due to declining enrollment. More and more students are taking advantage of the more than $8,000 universal voucher to pay for private school. Florida’s public school teachers — Miami is no exception, despite its high cost of living — continue to rank among the lowest-paid in the country. If the referendum were to fail, public school teachers in Miami would face pay cuts of up to $16,000. Education experts project a mass exodus of teachers from the public school system — for other districts or other jobs — if that were to happen. For homeowners, the referendum is a one-dollar tax on every $1,000 of taxable property value. So, for the median assessed home value of $177,000, that’s an additional $177 in property taxes per year. For someone owning a home assessed at $1 million, that would mean an extra $1,000 in annual tax.

Broad coalition of support Miami-Dade’s new superintendent of schools, Rafael Villalobos, is leading the charge to get voters on board with extending the referendum — and ultimately improving teacher pay. But without that tranche of money for teachers — almost as much as the state sends through its per-pupil formula to the district — the results would be “catastrophic,” Villalobos said. “When you look at the impact that that would make in a city that now is actually seen as one of the most expensive cities to live in, even surpassing New York City, can you imagine if we didn’t have this supplemental pay to make our teachers competitive enough to stay in Miami-Dade County Public Schools,” Villalobos asked. He’s got a broad coalition behind him in the effort. Elected Republican officials, union leaders and school board members have aligned behind the “yes” campaign on the referendum.

“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,” District 13 County Commissioner Rene Garcia, a Republican, said at a recent event supporting the referendum.

Rafael Villalobos, center, stands with school board members during his swearing ceremony as Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, inside Jackie Gleason Theater at Filmore Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Fla.

It’s rare for such a referendum to fail. Only twice has it happened among more than a dozen counties who have opted in to the tax, according to United Teachers of Dade President Antonio White.

White noted that supporters of renewing the referendum have been aided even further by the fact that charter schools — which are technically considered public schools — now get a slice of the referendum money. “We have a pretty good track record of what it takes to get it approved, especially since there’s not a lot of opposition to it now. Previously, there was some opposition from the Republican Party, but now that charter schools are getting their piece, there’s no real opposition there,” White said. Two different tax measures on the ballot But one complicating factor for the referendum to pass could be the presence of another high-profile tax item on the ballot, said White: Amendment 3. Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead property tax exemption from $50,000 to $250,000, would save many Floridians on their property tax bills but drain local government budgets. The initial version of the amendment spearheaded by Gov. Ron DeSantis would have directly affected school districts’ take of that tax, but schools were exempted in the final version. The amendment has the backing of the Florida Realtors trade group and Rep. Byron Donalds, the GOP’s nominee for governor.

Advocates for public services are pushing Floridians to vote “no” on that measure. The mixed messaging of “no” on the state amendment and “yes” on the local referendum has some leaders worried about voter confusion, according to a report from the Florida Trib. Broward also has a referendum Voters in Broward County will come across a similar referendum. Like in Miami, the referendum has also passed in two previous election cycles — 2018 and 2022. Broward County Public Schools estimates the impact of their referendum at about $358 million per year. According to the Broward Teachers Union, educators in county public schools received pay supplements between $500 and $12,000 this past year, and that number will go up if the referendum is renewed. Money from the 2022 referendum allocated 75% toward pay for teachers and eligible employees. This year’s referendum would push that percentage up to 90%, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.