PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Pinellas County School Board made a big decision on Tuesday. They unanimously decided to add a millage tax referendum to the November ballot.
This means voters will have the choice of raising taxes to help pay for education.
"Having well educated citizens is worth the cost I think," said Sarah Peacock, a local mother.
Peacock has an eighth grader in Pinellas County Schools and said she's noticed an issue with quality teachers staying in classrooms.
"Our teachers are great but I think it's hard to keep them when we aren't able to be competitive with the rest of the state and the rest of the country," said Peacock.
That's why she supports a tax referendum that could help.
The Pinellas County School Board voted to approve a property tax referendum to go on this November's ballot.
The district currently has a $500,000 property tax in place, but the new referendum would increase it to $1 million.
If the tax increases pass, the owner of a home with a taxable assessment value of $400,000 would pay $400 a year.
"I don't think it's a huge ask. It's not very much comparatively to what we spend on other things, and I think it's important for our students and our community to keep educating the next generation," said Peacock.
Mark Klutho is a resident of Pinellas and doesn't support it.
"Not when I see money wasted the way it is," said Klutho.
He believes the district could use its money more effectively, like utilizing high performance passive solar buildings to save money on utility bills.
District leaders said they need to raise the tax to remain competitive with other school districts, such as Pasco, Sarasota, and Hernando counties, that are also implementing a $1 million tax.
"We need to support our teachers, we need to support our support staff, we need to support field trips to art institutions, to museums. This is a no-brainer for the people of Pinellas County," said Terry Marks with the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance.
The millage tax would be used towards teacher and staff salaries and also towards arts and technology resources.
"If they are so stressed by multiple jobs, or they are having to hold down other jobs, they can't focus on their main job," said Kate Smith with the Pinellas Education Foundation.
Pinellas voters will see the millage increase on their November ballot.
"If this continues the way that it is going, then you're going to have a lot of businesses close down"
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