Osceola County voters delivered a major win for their local school district by approving a new property tax to fund teacher salaries, safety personnel, and student extracurricular programs. The vote marks the first-ever operational millage for Osceola County schools.

District leaders say they turned to voters for help after years of budget cuts and growing financial uncertainty, including the potential passage of Amendment 3, which added further pressure.

The Osceola County School District had already made deep cuts before the vote. Heather Kahoun, chair of the Osceola County School Board, described the financial strain leading up to the election.

“Over the last two years specifically, we’ve made more than $20 million in cuts to our budget. We’ve dipped into our general fund pretty drastically,” Kahoun said. “We’ve really cut as much as we could. Osceola County would have had to get much leaner. That would have required us to cut more positions.”

District leaders had projected a $100 million budget shortfall over the next four years.

“We have been kind of just sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what our community was feeling and in hope that they are in support of our teachers and our staff and our programs like our arts and our athletics and most importantly, our safety, too,” Kahoun said.

Voters approved a rate of one mill — equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. For a home with a taxable value of $200,000, that works out to $200 per year. The millage is estimated to generate $62.5 million for both public and charter schools.

Funding will be directed toward:

• Competitive pay and benefits for teachers and staff
• Preserving academic programs
• Safety and security personnel

With property tax reform also passing, the millage will help cover costs that municipalities previously shouldered for student resource officers. Kahoun stressed why that matters.

“So with Amendment Three passing last night, even though schools were carved out of it when it did hit the legislators in Tallahassee, it still will impact us. We’ve already been told by our county, and our two cities that if Amendment Three were to pass, they would not be able to help us shoulder the cost of our SROs in our schools. We have great SROs from the county in both of the two cities, and it’s a really high cost for us,” she said.

“If we were to have lost our millage and Amendment 3 passed, we would have had to look at armed security or guardians. And we don’t feel like that provides the level of security that our families know and have come to trust in our schools.”

The vote drew strong support, with 64% of voters casting ballots in favor of the measure. Janet Moody, president of the Osceola County Education Association, called it a victory for students, employees and the wider community. She sent the following statement to News 6:

“On behalf of our union, I want to thank the voters who recognized that strong schools require investment. By approving this millage referendum, our community has made a commitment to recruiting and retaining quality employees through improved salaries, maintaining safe learning and working environments, and ensuring that students continue to have access to valuable opportunities in the arts and athletics. This outcome sends a clear message: our community values public education and the people who make it work every day. From teachers and paraprofessionals to support staff, transportation employees, food service workers, and every employee who contributes to student success, this investment acknowledges the important role they play in our schools. We are especially grateful to the employees, parents, community leaders, and volunteers who worked tirelessly to educate voters about what was at stake. Their dedication helped ensure that our schools will have the resources necessary to meet the needs of students both inside and outside the classroom. While we celebrate this achievement, we also recognize that our work continues. We remain committed to partnering with the district to ensure these funds are used responsibly and transparently to deliver on the promises made to voters. Today is a reminder that when a community comes together in support of public education, everyone benefits. We look forward to building on this momentum and continuing to advocate for the employees who serve our students and for the programs that help every child thrive.”

The millage will be in place for four years, beginning with the next school year. An independent citizen advisory committee will monitor how the funds are spent.

“So we will, over the next year, get all of that set up to have that independent advisory group that will monitor the spending and ensure that we are spending it on those things that we promised on the ballot. By law, we have to do that, and we are committed to doing that,” Kahoun explained.