The Lake County School Board is asking voters to consider approving the continuation of a 0.75-mill tax that has been levied since 2019 to enhance school safety and strengthen student mental health supports.
The support was the result of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act enacted by the Florida Legislature after the tragic shooting at the south Florida school. The act imposed upon all Florida public school boards numerous requirements to achieve greater safety for students and staff, but the funds allocated by the state were not sufficient to satisfy the objectives and requirements in the act without compromising the quality of instructional and other services provided by the Board. The School Board requested the 0.75-mill contribution in 2018 and voters gave their approval.
The referendum is up for renewal and appears on the November ballot. Over the past several weeks the district has been sharing information on social media, on its website and in printed brochures to explain how the money has been spent over the past four years. A “Super Sunday” video will be e-mailed to parents this weekend to further explain the topic, and it’s also the subject of the first edition of “Lake County Schools Ed Talks,” a new monthly podcast that the district launched this week. It can be accessed through Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on the district website at lake.k12.fl.us/departments/communications/podcast.
Superintendent Diane Kornegay has said she doesn’t intend on telling people how to vote, but she wants to give details on what the district has done and what the district plans to do so voters can make their own independent and informed decisions.
Thanks to Lake voters who supported the referendum in 2018, the district now has:
- 73 resource deputies and safety officers – one or more assigned to each school to protect students and staff;
- funding for a nurse to be assigned to each school to help students manage their physical and mental health needs;
- more school psychologists, mental health liaisons and social workers than ever before, working to identify and help manage student mental health issues so they don’t escalate and become safety issues;
- new alternative education options including Lake Success Academy, a short-term alternative to expulsions; the Academy of Lake Hills to meet longer-term needs, and the Positive Alternative to School Suspension (P.A.S.S.) program for temporary interventions.
Four years later, the district is asking to continue the existing program with no increase in the rate requested – it was 0.75 mills in 2018 and the request this year remains at 0.75 mills. The amount each taxpayer would pay is based on home value. For every $1,000 in home value, taxpayers would pay 75-cents. On a home valued at $250,000, this equates to $187.50.
If the referendum passes, the money would be collected from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2027. The collection could not be continued beyond that date without another referendum. The money would be used to retain safety and mental health personnel and grow alternative education programs so that every child has a place where his or her needs can best be met.
If the referendum does not pass, the district will not be able to keep all the positions and programs that the funding helped establish. “We would have some tough decisions to make,” Kornegay said.
The 2022 General Election is Nov. 8, and early voting continues through Nov. 5. For more information on the election, visit the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office at lakevotes.com .
Original source can be found here.
