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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\u201cI think we\u2019ve made the point. It\u2019s not ours. It\u2019s yours,\u201d said Commissioner Bill Braswell, pointing towards Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid during an agenda review meeting on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After moving to delay a vote on the referendum to January, the commissioners decided Friday to put it on next week\u2019s agenda for a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis board wanted to make a clear distinction as to who is the origin of this tax increase, millage increase. I think we\u2019ve succeeded,\u201d said Braswell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe mere fact that the citizens are going to look at us as the ones that are raising the millage rate, that\u2019s the point,\u201d said Commissioner Martha Santiago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commission chair Rick Wilson also shared concerns about voters thinking it was the county asking for a millage increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur school board and our teachers do a great job but when it comes to this kind of stuff, ya\u2019ll know what happens with the public and we wanted to make sure that who was doing it was going to get all the credit for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florida statute requires county commissioners be involved in this process, which led to a lawsuit in Hillsborough County last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
County commissioners said they are calling on the legislature to take this responsibility away from county commissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s fantastic if they can get some change. School districts have been asking for that change for a number of years,\u201d said Heid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe might be called liars and cowards but we\u2019re not. We knew what the deal was and we wanted to investigate it,\u201d said county commissioner Rick Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Polk Education Association President Stephanie Yocum who called commissioners cowards last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI said what I said,\u201d said Yocum Friday. \u201cFor them to say that they don\u2019t want anything to do with it, I would still stand by what I said \u2013 that\u2019s cowardly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The referendum had the unanimous support of another elected body: the Polk County School Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The draft referendum reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor teacher and staff recruitment and retention, career and technical education, school safety, arts, and early learning purposes, shall the School Board of Polk County, Florida levy an additional 1.0 mill in ad valorem taxes annually from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2031 with 80% being focused on salaries and 20% on the program areas listed with proceeds shared with charter schools as required by law and monitored by an independent citizens\u2019 oversight committee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are ranked 63 out of 67 districts in school funding. We receive on average $300 less than all of the surrounding large urban districts per pupil,\u201d said Heid to the commissioners during the agenda review meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heid said teacher salaries in Polk County are between $5,000 \u2013 $7,500 a year lower than in surrounding districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A referendum is the only way to \u201cbe competitive,\u201d Heid said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are one of the only school districts in central Florida that has not passed a tax referendum,\u201d said Heid. \u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019ve got the best possible teachers in our classrooms, we\u2019re filling every vacancy and again, we\u2019re paying all of our staff a true living wage that we can compete with our neighboring districts with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The county commission will vote next Tuesday to pass along the referendum to the supervisor of elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If approved, it will be on the ballot next November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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