ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – St. Johns County voters will decide on two ballot referendums that will help with funding for schools, and the school district is informing voters through a series of town halls.
The first referendum has to do with continuing the half-cent sales tax for another 10 years which voters approved back in 2015. It helps pay for capital outlay projects for things like growth, maintenance, technology, and safety.
The second is a one-mill property tax increase for the next four years. If approved, it would pay for teacher and staff salaries and benefits.
Linda Boyd, a paraprofessional at St. Augustine High School, attended the town hall at Gamble Rogers Middle School Thursday to learn more about the ballot referendums.
“Looking at the full picture will give you a better idea because it takes a lot to run a county,” Boyd said. “And when you have a superintendent that’s willing to come out and have these town meetings to give a more in-depth, if you will, of what it all entails.”
Sally Cunningham also attended the town hall. She’s lived in St. Johns County for 33 years and she’s been a teacher for 32 years. She feels it’s important to keep the half-cent sales tax in place to help with the amount of growth the county is experiencing.
“An important thing for voters to realize is the state doesn’t come in and fund these new schools until students are sitting in the classroom,” Cunningham said. “So all of that building and all of the salaries that we pay are ahead of time. Whereas most districts have one school that they build every 5 to 10 years, and you can afford that, our district has school after school year after year after year, we can’t continue to sustain that hit.”
If voters approve continuing the half-cent sales tax for another ten years, it will remain at 6.5%. 38% of the half-cent sales tax revenue comes from people visiting the county. Michael Degutis, chief of staff for St. Johns County Schools, says this referendum is an easier sell to voters because it’s not a tax increase.
“So in theory, if you spend as much as you did next year, as you do this year, not including inflation, you will spend no more in sales tax next year, as you do this year,” Degutis said.
St. Johns County Schools says the one-mill property tax increase voters are also deciding on will equal one dollar for every thousand dollars of assessed value on a property. That means if your house is valued at $360,000 your property tax increase will equal $360.
“You will pay more in property taxes, but the amount of money that will raise for teacher salaries and benefits and employee educational support employee salaries is historical,” Degutis said. “To be quite honest with you, it’s monumental compared to anything we’ve been able to put on the table for salary increases and benefits for our employees in my 14 years here in the district.”
Cunningham feels the pay increase for teachers that the one mill increase is hoping to pay for is much needed to keep teachers in St. Johns County.
“I’ve been here, teaching here for a long time. I bought my house for $60,000. I made a salary at that time, 30…33 years ago that I could afford that,” Cunningham said. “Well, now houses aren’t selling for $60,000 yet teacher salaries the same year that I was able to purchase a home, now people are looking at homes that are 2...3... $400,000 and they’re only making $15,000 more than when I purchased my home.”
While Boyd says she still has some research to do, she says she’s leaning positively towards both ballot referendums.
“I do have a better view of how my vote would be in November,” Boyd said.
There are two more town halls that St. Johns County Schools will host. The next one is on Oct. 15 at the St. Johns County Schools Administration Building at 6 pm. That meeting will also be offered virtually.
The final meeting will be on Oct. 17 at Allen D. Nease High School at 6 pm.
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 7. Election Day is Nov. 5.