St. Lucie voters may be asked to renew property tax to fund teacher pay, mental health

Olivia McKelvey, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·2 min read

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Voters here could be asked to renew a property tax for four years to fund teacher salaries, school security, mental-health services and educational programs.

The School Board Tuesday, without discussion, agreed unanimously to put the question on the Nov. 8 election.

The County Commission also must approve the issue.

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If approved, the tax would go into effect July 1 2023 and expire in June 2027. The same tax was first approved by voters in April 2019.

Renewing the tax would generate about $25 million annually, according to district spokesperson Lydia Martin.

If approved in November, it would cost the owner of a $185,000 home about $185 per year.

Approximately 70% of the money generated would be spent on recruiting and retaining teachers, 25% on school resource officers, 4% on expanding mental-health programsand 1% on preserving important programs, Martin said.

That's the same way the tax money has been spent over the past three years, according to district data.

The district has nearly 3,000 teachers; it has nine vacancies, Martin said.

In 2019, roughly 66% of voters said yes to the initial 1-mil property-tax increase, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office.

Indian River County voters approved a similar tax renewal in August 2020.

At the Aug. 23 primary, Martin County voters will be asked to renew a half-mil property tax, initially passed in 2018. That tax, similar to St. Lucie County's renewal, would go toward school safety, mental-health programs and teacher recruitment and retention. The rate of the Martin County property tax would be adjusted annually.

Olivia McKelvey is TCPalm's watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach her at olivia.mckelvey@tcpalm.com, 772-521-4380 and on Twitter @olivia_mckelvey.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: St. Lucie schools asking voters in November to renew property tax