Two school referendum items on the back of all Florida Keys ballots may have dry formal wording, but school officials say they translate to the lives and success of local teachers and children.
“The two school funding referendums are the least controversial items on the November ballot, but they will have the greatest impact on our local communities,” said school board chair Sue Woltanski. “Together, they simply ask to continue our current school funding, something our community has approved for the last 20 years.“
The ballot items use the words “ad valorem tax” and “sales surtax,” and Superintendent Theresa Axford recognizes these can be emotionally loaded words. In an Oct. 12 radio interview, Axford said, “It’s important to get the word out that it is not a new tax. These things have been in place for at least 20 years and probably longer than that. But the half mill is used for teachers’ salaries and having a school resource officer in every school. That’s the most important thing for parents. They want good, qualified staff working with their students and they want their students to be safe. This half mill, if it didn’t pass, would cost each teacher $20,000 of their salary. So we’re working at trying to keep teachers’ salaries up where they can live here and be successful.”
School board member John Dickrecently said the funding also covers the cost difference for police officers and deputies in every school.
“The cost of the school resource officers provided by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Key West Police totals $2.8 million,” Dick said. “The state provided us with $1 million, so additional funds need to come from within the county.”
Axford said the half-cent sales tax really is a sales tax that does not show up on property tax bills. Research shows that tourists pay about 60% of that sales tax revenue. “The half cent is for all our capital projects. We have a lineup of capital, or construction, projects and we just would not be able to get to them without that funding. I think our community, once they hear this message, and they know that they want to keep our schools functioning at the high level they are, they’re going to be able to understand how they should vote.”
Monroe County Mayor Holly Raschein voiced her support for both school tax referendums.
“We have incredible schools in Monroe County, some of the best in the state,” she said. “The two ballot initiatives are not new taxes, they are renewals of critical funds that are necessary to keep high quality teachers and schools. I’m proud to support them, and I hope you do, too.”
Anyone who chose to receive a vote-by-mail ballot should have received the big yellow envelope. Vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 5 election went to the post office on Sept. 27. Sample ballots for each area of the Keys are available at keyselections.org under a tab called Sample Ballot List.
The local school referendums “might be on the back of the ballot, but they should be in front of your mind, ” Woltanski said.
