A Florida judge has ruled that a tax referendum to support the Hillsborough County school district should appear on the November ballot as the school board planned.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the ruling sets aside a decision by the Hillsborough County Commission to delay the vote until 2026.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Emily Peacock ruled that county commissions do not have discretion to change the date of a school property tax referendum. Peacock instructed the County Commission to meet no later than Aug. 13 to schedule the vote for the Nov. 5 general election.
The proposed referendum would ask voters to pay an additional $1 per $1,000 of taxable real estate value; most of the proceeds would be used to supplement district employees’ pay. The County Commission, citing concerns about rising housing costs, voted 4-3 last month to postpone the ballot question until 2026.
District leaders, asserting that they need the money now to ease teacher shortages, sued the commission to overturn its decision. WFTS-TV reports that the school district estimates the millage increase would raise about $177 million annually.
In their court motions, the county’s attorneys argued that because state law mentions county commissions in the taxing process, it is logical to assume they have a degree of authority. The school district countered that the county government is needed to oversee the taxing referendum, but has no say in when it can take place.
In her ruling, Peacock cited a 2020 case in Indian River County, in which the school district wanted to place a tax renewal question on the August ballot, but the County Commission wanted to wait for the general election in November.
The judge in that case wrote that “the commissioners have no discretion to choose a different date, but must perform the ministerial act of calling for an election as directed by the School Board, including the date requested.”
Lawyers for the commission had cited other rulings and opinions, including a case in Hernando County that the school district lost.
