HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Van Ayres said he is ready to fight to put a tax referendum on the November ballot after the County Commission voted to keep it off the ballot.
In a 4-3 vote Wednesday morning, the Hillsborough County Commission decided to push the millage referendum to 2026. The Hillsborough County School Board approved the referendum in April and planned for it to be on the November ballot.
The one mil ad valorem tax increase would last four years, costing the average homeowner about $281 annually. The school district estimates the millage would raise about $177 million to support Hillsborough’s students yearly.
That money would have been used to increase teachers' and staff's pay and expand academic programs. The district’s plan for that extra funding includes a $6,000 supplement for teachers and a $3,000 supplement for support staff.
However, during Wednesday's meeting, the commission used a statute that gave them power to decide when the referendum would be put on the ballot and moved it to November 2026.
The move to kill the tax referendum vote this year left Ayres, "shocked."
"It's puzzling why four county commissioners are taking the choice out of the hands of the voters," Ayres said during a press conference after the commission's vote.
Ayres said that due to the commission's move, he has called a special school board meeting for July 23, where he will ask the board's permission to seek "all appropriate legal action to ensure the referendum is on the ballot this year."
"Our understanding is it's their (the Commission) administrative duty," Ayres said. "Our school board voted in April to have this on the ballot in November. They are superseding and trying to take away the power of the school board."
Ayres said he will ask a judge to issue a ruling to "compel the county commission to do their statutorily defined duty."
"We will do everything in our power to make sure it's on the ballot on November 5," Ayres said.
