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Hillsborough County voters have initially rejected the Hillsborough school board referendum in Tuesday's primary election by less than 1,000 votes, which could trigger a machine recount.
The final vote totals were 109,444 votes to reject the referendum and 108,492 votes to pass the referendum, a difference of 952 votes, according to the results on the Hillsborough County Elections website.
However, the county elections department said late Tuesday, "these are unofficial results and there are still more ballots to count. We are counting approximately 3,500 vote by mail ballots now. And the unofficial results won't be certified until Thursday night or Friday morning."
The county said a machine recount would be triggered if the difference is 0.5% or less.
The referendum would have allocated more funds to Hillsborough County schools through a raise in homeowner taxes (millage rate). The district planned to use the increased budget to raise staff salaries and fund programs.
Tuesday night, Superintendent Addison Davis said the community has to ask itself, "Are our students having the same quality of education as surrounding counties are, as they have the ability to attract and retain the best and the brightest every single day? And with an increased millage, you know, we’re not able to compete. So it just becomes harder and this openly is the setback."
The proposal was a 1-mill increase, equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a homeowner's property value. If it had been approved, homeowners wouldn't have seen an increase in the tax until next summer, and it would have phased out in four years. An extension could have also been approved by voters if it was needed at a later time.
According to the district, the projected $146 million would have been used explicitly in the following manner:
- At least 75% of the district share of funds would be used to increase compensation for instructional positions (teachers, counselors, media specialists, etc.), bus drivers and transportation assistants, classroom assistants, and other non-instructional support staff.
- This could enhance the average instructional salary by $4,000 and the average non-instructional salary by $2,000.
- About 20% of the district's share of funds would be used to protect and expand art, music, PE, and workforce education as follows:
- Add 45 art teachers, 67 music teachers, and 37 PE teachers to Elementary schools to ensure all grade levels, including Kindergarten, receive exceptional learning experiences.
- Dedicate funds to repairing and replacing art supplies, art equipment, music instruments, band uniforms, audio/visual equipment, expanding health courses in middle school, and PE equipment.
- Dedicate funds to expanding workforce education programs.
Hillsborough residents may remember a similar proposal that was approved in 2018. It increased the sales tax with a promise to repair schools and pave the way for other improvements.
With accusations about previous administrations mishandling funds, some opposed the new measure and questioned if it was the right time.
Hillsborough County Results from Other Races
