OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Osceola County voters will decide in November whether they want to pay more in property taxes.
County Commissioners voted to put a referendum on the ballot that if approved, will increase the millage rate by 1 mill. The revenue raised would be used to fund public and charter schools and help retain teachers.
“A lot of things that we’ve got right now that we take for granted, that could be on the chopping block, would be our teacher recruitment and retention, first and foremost,” said Osceola County Superintendent Mark Shanoff. “To live on a teacher salary, to live on a school staff member salary is extremely difficult at this point,” he said. “So what we’re asking our voters to do is take care of those public servants.”
Shanoff urged commissioners to approve the referendum, which if passed, could raise about $62 million a year.
“They’re looking for an additional revenue source to make sure our schools remain competitive,” said District 3 Commissioner Brandon Arrington on the Osceola County Facebook page.
Under the proposal, homeowners would pay $1 more for every $1,000 of taxable property value. That means someone who owns a $300,000 home would pay about $300 dollars in property taxes each year.
Shanoff said the revenue would also be used to help the district keep its athletic program, its art program and hire private security to replace school resource officers who could go away if Amendment 3 passes in November.
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