JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County voters will decide on the November ballot whether to keep a school property tax that has been paying for higher teacher salaries in Jacksonville since 2022.
The measure is a renewal, not a new levy. Voters first backed the one-mill tax four years ago. Each mill equals a dollar of tax on every thousand dollars of a property’s assessed value, and the revenue has been steered into salaries across Duval County Public Schools.
District figures put the added pay at about $8,600 a year on average for each teacher. The Jacksonville Civic Council, which has endorsed a yes vote, estimates that turning down the renewal would cut the average teacher paycheck by roughly $8,500 a year.
If voters say yes, the extension would start on July 1, 2027, and run through June 30, 2030.
Backers tie the tax to recent gains in the district. The civic council cites fewer open classroom jobs, better retention of veteran teachers, rising graduation rates and back-to-back A grades from the state for the school system.
The local teachers union also supports the renewal and has warned that some educators could move to neighboring districts that offer their own voter-approved supplements if Duval loses the money. The vote also lands at a time when Florida sits at the very bottom of the national teacher salary rankings kept by the National Education Association, a point supporters raise often.
The civic council is also asking voters to reject Amendment 3, a statewide measure that would raise the homestead exemption. Early voting is underway ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.
Section: More Jacksonville FL politics news
Filed under: Jacksonville FL Politics News
