What to Know
- Labeled the ‘Secure the Next Generation’ initiative, it would raise the monthly taxes on home and condo owners in the county if passed.
- Homeowners with an average value of $240,000 would pay about $10 extra a month.
- Condo owners with a value of $130,000 would pay around $5 extra a month.
Broward County teachers and school board officials are urging voters to pass a referendum to raise property taxes aimed at providing over $90 million for schools in the county – including paying for more officers in the wake of February’s mass shooting in Parkland.
Labeled the ‘Secure the Next Generation’ initiative, it would raise the monthly taxes on home and condo owners in the county if passed during the August 28th primary elections.
Homeowners with an average value of $240,000 would pay about $10 extra a month while condo owners with a value of $130,000 would pay around $5 extra a month.
Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, along with officials from the Broward Teachers Union, said Tuesday that without the referendum helping to pay for special programs and complying with a state law requiring one officer for every 1,000 students – a rule in place after 17 people died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – the county is literally stuck.
Runcie and BTU officials also say the increased money would be used for teacher salary increases, something they say is needed to compete with neighboring counties Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.
