© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.
WUSF is focused on empowering your participation in democracy. We’ve created places where you can ask questions about the election process, the issues and candidates. That feedback will inform the reporting you see here. We’re listening.

Voters approve school taxes across the state amid sweeping Amendment 3 property tax cut

close up of the front of a school bus
DavidPrahl/Getty Images/iStockphoto
/
iStockphoto
Voters in nearly every county with a school referendum said yes to the tax.

One political science professor says it shows voters are willing to pay higher taxes to support their local schools.

Voters in 26 out of 27 counties said yes to increasing or renewing sales or property taxes that will fund their public schools.

At the same time, people overwhelmingly approved Amendment 3, which will significantly cut property taxes, and likely reduce local government services.

The amendment raises the homestead exemption starting next year, reducing the amount of property taxes that don't go towards schools.

Much of the political push for Amendment 3 stemmed from residents' frustration with rising costs and property taxes.

Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said the election results indicate voters are still willing to support their local schools even amid these affordability concerns.

"If you say you're going to raise taxes but put it towards a specific thing that voters think is worthy, then they're willing to bite the bullet and still help," said Jewett.

Jewett added there's a long history of voters approving tax increases for schools.

"If you look back over the last 20 years, they've been approved more often than not, and it just shows that local public school systems still have a lot of support from county residents," said Jewett.

ALSO READ: School funding is on the ballot for three districts in the Tampa Bay region

Polk County voters approved, for the first time, a 1 millage increase that will help fund teacher pay and other school programs related to the arts and school safety.

The school referendum won about 60% of the vote.

Meanwhile, about 62% of Polk County voters also approved Amendment 3's property tax reduction.

"This shows that it was a completely bipartisan effort to get that kind of turnout," said Stephanie Yocum, president of the teachers' union, Polk Education Association.

Yocum said districts across the state are increasingly relying on voter-approved millages to fund their schools because of inflation and dwindling state dollars.

"We shouldn't have to go out and ask our communities for extra taxes because there's plenty of money in Florida, and Florida, as a state, has not prioritized our public schools," said Yocum.

ALSO READ: Florida voters approved Amendment 3. But what happens next?

Florida's starting salary for teachers ranks 19th in the nation while its average teacher salary ranks 50th.

Support for both local school taxes and the sweeping property tax cut can be seen across the state.

Pasco County voters overwhelmingly approved both a renewal of its school property tax (74%) and Amendment 3 (67%).

In Hillsborough County, voters renewed a half-cent sales tax that pays for school repairs and maintenance with 61% of the vote.

Amendment 3 received 59% of Hillsborough voters' approval, garnering less support than the statewide average (62%).

Out of 27 counties with a school referendum on its ballot, Suwannee, a rural county in north central Florida, was the only one that rejected the tax. The half-penny sales tax would've helped fund safety & security upgrades, technology improvements and construction and renovation.

Jewett said he believes the school carve-out in Amendment 3 was crucial to its success. Voters, he said, seemed to be more okay with letting "counties, cities and sort of nebulous special districts ... figure it out."

"To them, it's just kind of like, 'well, this is some of your money going into a black hole, and surely they can find some savings, and they don't need all that money,'" Jewett said.

Even though Amendment 3 leaves school taxes in place, childrens' services such as out-of-school programs, early learning and childcare could still be reduced.

As WUSF's general assignment reporter, I cover a variety of topics across the greater Tampa Bay region.
Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.