HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The interim superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools did not mince words. In fact, he repeated the same ones multiple times—he wants to “level the playing field.”
“We need a level playing field to compete with surrounding school districts,” said Van Ayres.
To do so, he said the district needs to recruit more outstanding teachers to make sure students get the best education possible. And to do that, the interim superintendent is pushing for a property tax increase.
“We try to — a lot of times — complicate things,” Ayres said. “This is not that complicated.”
After a lengthy discussion Tuesday night, school board members unanimously agreed to give Ayres more time to develop a concrete plan before deciding whether the tax hike should be put on the November 2024 ballot.
If the board ultimately greenlights the referendum, voters in the 2024 general election would choose whether or not they’re okay with a 1.0 mill property tax increase. According to the district, that increase would generate about $166 million that could be used to pay teachers better and strengthen the district’s recruitment and retention efforts.
Jen Flebotte, who’s running for a district-wide school board seat, agreed that district teachers deserve better pay, but she doesn’t think a tax increase is the best way forward.
“There’s gotta be a better way,” she said Tuesday.
She thinks the district can find money for the pay increases in other ways, especially in a time of inflation when the many families pinching pennies would feel any tax hike.
“As a single mother of three boys, that hurts me too. Right?” she said. “And my kids are in Hillsborough County. My electric bill’s three times what it was five months ago.”
Not everyone shares that opinion. Joseph W.J. Robinson compares the district’s schools to a patient dying on the operating table.
“Do you want a doctor to fix you, or are you saying I can’t afford the doctor? No, you want somebody to take care of your health and keep you alive,” he said. “So, this is the same thing.”
If given the chance, he would vote for the tax increase in November 2024. He hopes others would too.
According to the district, the possible tax increase would cost the average Hillsborough County property owner about $20 more each month.
Ayres plans to present his more detailed pitch for the tax hike early next year. Afterward, board members will decide whether it should be placed on the ballot.
