Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed his opposition to the Hillsborough County School Board’s lawsuit regarding a proposed property tax increase meant to support teacher salaries.
“You do not need to raise anybody’s taxes. Why are you trying to raise property taxes in the midst of some of the worst inflation we’ve seen in the modern history of this country?” DeSantis said at a recent news conference.
“This year’s budget, we have $1.25 billion dollars… it can only be used to increase teachers salaries. That’s the only thing it can be used for, but then we also had a massive increase in the base student allocation. So that money goes to the districts. Hillsborough can take a lot of that money and raise teachers’ salaries.” he continued.
The school board voted to file a lawsuit against the Hillsborough County Commission during a special meeting on Tuesday in response to the postponement of the property tax increase that was scheduled for the upcoming November ballot.
School administrators estimated that the millage referendum would have generated $177 million for teacher pay if it were approved.
Instead, the commission voted 4-3 to postpone the referendum until the 2026 plebiscite.
The school board stated that the funding is essential for the retention and recruitment of teachers, as the district is currently experiencing a shortage of 500 educators.
Rather, DeSantis was critical of the school board, asserting that there is an abundance of funding in the state budget to raise teacher compensation.
DeSantis concluded his response by proposing that certain members of the school board may be removed from their positions in November.
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