TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Tallahassee-area Leon County voters backed two school funding measures by wide margins, but district leaders say those dollars will not stop planned budget cuts for the next school year.
Unofficial results showed about 68 percent support for extending the half-cent sales surtax another 15 years and about 66 percent support for a new one-mill property tax for teacher pay, security and programs.
The sales-tax extension keeps money flowing for facilities, technology, transportation and safety projects and continues sharing revenue with eligible charter schools based on enrollment.
The one-mill levy is set to begin July 1, 2027, and run through June 30, 2031, raising an estimated $30 million in its first year, or about $200 a year for a homeowner with $200,000 in taxable value.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna thanked voters and said the district still faces pressure from staffing needs, classroom tools and raises even as the new revenue arrives.
Hanna pointed to universal school vouchers and reduced state funding as the main reasons administrators still expect cuts this spring that could reshape next year’s budget.
Leon Classroom Teachers Association president Scott Mazur said families feeling higher fuel and grocery bills can recognize the same squeeze hitting bus fleets and school operations.
Both ballot measures call for citizen advisory committees to review how the money is spent as the district balances voter-approved revenue against those pending cuts.
Parents watching classroom sizes, arts programs and bus routes will be watching those spring budget workshops as closely as they watched the referendum totals on election night.
Section: More Tallahassee FL politics news
Filed under: Tallahassee FL Politics News
