Broward Approves 1/2 Mill Rate Increase For Teacher Raises, Security & Counselors
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Broward County's one-half millage tax proposal, which would increase funding for teacher raises, school resource officers and counselors, passed on Tuesday.
The money funds mandated security measures ordered by the state after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
A fraction of the $93 million a year will pay for people with weapons to guard campuses.
Nearly all of the rest will go to raise salaries for teachers, counselors, cafeteria workers and bus drivers, to name a few.
The proposed 1/2 mill increase would equate to about $10 per month for homeowners with an average home value of $240,000.
The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of an assessed property value and is used to determine the amount of property tax.
On June 27, the School Board voted to allocate funds generated by the referendum in this manner:
72-percent or more of all available funds would be used for compensation of teachers and school-related staff (including bus drivers, assistants and food service workers)
Up to 20-percent for security (including school resource officers and security staff)
Up to eight-percent for essential programs in schools (such as additional guidance counselors, social workers, and behavioral staff).