Invest in Palm Beach County by approving school tax

The Palm Beach County School District should not need to ask voters to tax themselves again. But the district does need to ask. And on Nov. 6 voters need to say yes.

When we editorialized in support of the 10-year, one-cent sales tax increase for infrastructure just two years ago, we explained the need by saying that the Legislature had reduced the tax school districts can levy for school construction and maintenance. District officials showed that Tallahassee’s action had cost Palm Beach County $900 million over a decade.

Similarly, the Legislature has limited a separate property tax that finances school districts’ operating expenses. Mike Burke, the district’s chief financial officer, calculates that tinkering has cost the district nearly $400 million over the last three years. Essentially, the Legislature has refused to let the school district benefit from the post-recession rise in property values. Meanwhile, enrollment has grown.

Plus, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Massacre, the Legislature required districts to post at least one police officer in every school. It also set requirements for mental health services in schools.

What state legislators didn’t do, however, is give school districts enough money to meet those requirements.

Compounding the problem, they shifted money from academics to fund security. School districts got almost no new money for anything but safety, and even that money is wildly insufficient.

As a result, 19 Florida school districts have gone or will go to the voters this year seeking more money. Like nine others, Broward County did so successfully in August.

Palm Beach County voters approved a smaller version of today’s proposed tax in 2010 and 2014. For four years, they agreed to be taxed 25 cents for every $1,000 of assessed value to pay for 650 arts and elective teachers. Voting “yes” would ensure those teachers remain and their classes continue.

The new proposal would raise that tax to $1, so the net increase for taxpayers would be 75 cents. For a homestead assessed at $300,000, the increase would be $225. All told, the proposed tax would raise roughly $200 million.

One-fourth of the money would fund those specialty teachers. One-fourth would pay for more school police officers and mental health counselors. Half would go toward raises for teachers.

Starting next year, teachers with one to four years of experience would get an annual “retention supplement” of $1,000. Those with five to nine years would get $5,000. Teachers with 10 years and more would receive $10,000.

Skeptics might wonder if the money for teachers amounts to overreach, especially coming two years after the sales tax increase. Tax fatigue is understandable.

In an interview with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Superintendent Donald Fennoy noted the double-digit rate of attrition among teachers during their first six years. The shortage has reached core subjects.

“We need to retain experienced teachers,” he said. “The teacher in the classroom is the strongest component in academic achievement.”

Unless the Legislature provides more state money, Fennoy acknowledged the district probably will be asking for the same amount in 2022.

Aside from need, we support the tax because of the district’s record in monitoring the public’s money.

Voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase for schools in 2004, and an oversight committee reported the district had spent more than 98 percent of the money on promised projects. The other projects had been cancelled because there was no longer a need for them.

A similar committee is overseeing the sales-tax program implemented two years ago and would monitor the spending from this proposed property tax increase.

To bolster his case, Fennoy points to the district’s record. Overall, Palm Beach County is the highest-rated large district in the state. District-operated schools had a 90 percent high school graduation rate in 2016-17, with African-American graduation up 5.4 percent and Hispanic graduation up 3.4 percent.

Teacher pay in Palm Beach County and elsewhere in Florida has not kept up with inflation. Public schools drive the economy.

Voters could wait for the Legislature to give traditional public schools enough money, but that would be a very long wait. The Sun Sentinel recommends a YES vote on the Countywide School Question.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O'Hara, David Lyons and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.