School Board Question 1 would keep Broward's one-mill school tax through 2030: about $100 a year per $100,000 of taxable value. What it pays for and when to vote.
Plantation voters will decide Nov. 3 whether Broward County Public Schools keeps collecting its one-mill property tax for four more years. The measure is School Board Question 1 on the general election ballot.
The tax pays for teacher and staff pay supplements, school security and mental health staff. Voters first approved it in 2022, and it is set to expire. The district says losing it would cost about $358 million a year. That figure is on the district’s Referendum 2026 page.
It is a renewal, not a new tax. The rate would stay at one mill, so a homeowner’s school tax bill would be about the same as it is now.
What the ballot says
This is the ballot language, as published by the district:
Fund School Employee Pay, Safety, and Mental Health through a One-Mill Property Tax Levy
To enhance school safety and mental health services, recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and essential employees, improve student achievement, and support critical school operations, shall the School Board of Broward County continue to levy a one-mill ad valorem property tax from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2030, to fund school safety personnel, mental health services, increased compensation for teachers, and school-based support staff for public and charter schools?
It passes with a simple majority of the votes cast. If approved, it would cover four school years, starting with 2027-28.
What it would cost a Plantation homeowner
One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value, or $100 for every $100,000. The tax is charged on your School Board taxable value, which the Broward County Property Appraiser sets. For most homesteaded owners that is well below what the home would sell for.
| School Board taxable value | Yearly cost at one mill |
|---|---|
| $200,000 | $200 |
| $300,000 | $300 |
| $417,877 (county average home) | about $418 |
| $500,000 | $500 |
The district’s own examples use Property Appraiser averages for the whole county:
- The average home has a market value of $652,756 and a School Board taxable value of $417,877. The owner would pay about $418 a year, or $35 a month.
- The average condo has a market value of $296,524 and a taxable value of about $230,002. The owner would pay about $230 a year, or $19 a month.
For comparison, the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey five-year estimates put the median value of an owner-occupied home in Plantation at $447,700. That is a market value estimate with a margin of error, not a taxable value. Your exact figure is on your property tax notice.
Where the money goes now
The district’s referendum page breaks down how it spends the current tax:
- Pay supplements: 75%, about $173 million in 2026, for teachers and other staff. The average teacher supplement is $8,750 a year.
- Safety and security: 17%, about $39 million, for about 393 positions. They include 185 security specialists and 201 contracted school resource officers, plus $1.7 million for panic button and safety software.
- Mental health: 8%, about $18 million, for about 224 positions, including family counselors, school nurses, psychologists and social workers.
The renewal would shift that balance. The district says 90% or more would go to pay supplements and up to 10% to school resource officers, safety staff and mental health programs. The School Board votes each year on how the money is split, with public comment first. The board has also barred the use of referendum money for top administrators’ pay.
All public schools in Broward share the money, including charter schools. Of the roughly $358 million a year, the district expects about $283 million to go to district-run schools and about $75 million to charter schools. In Plantation that covers nine district campuses and two charter schools, listed in our Plantation public schools guide.
Why the district says it needs it
Broward County Public Schools has lost more than 10,000 students since last school year, the district said Sept. 28. Fewer students means less state money. The district says a referendum is the School Board’s only way, outside the Legislature, to keep raising these funds. Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the School District of Palm Beach County both levy a one-mill referendum tax for similar purposes, the district said.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn holds the last of three public meetings on enrollment, the budget and the referendum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Monarch High School, 5050 Wiles Road, in Coconut Creek, about 12 miles north. The meeting runs until 8 p.m.
What it means for you
- If you own property in Plantation, a yes vote keeps your school tax at today’s one-mill rate for 2027 through 2030. A no vote means the tax ends when the current levy expires.
- If you rent, you are not billed directly, but you vote on it like any other registered voter.
- If you have children in a Broward public or charter school, this money pays for school resource officers, counselors and part of teachers’ pay at their school.
- Early voting runs Monday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 1, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The site in Plantation is West Regional Library, 8601 W. Broward Blvd. The last day to ask for a mail ballot is Thursday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. Dates, polling places and the city races are in our Broward voting guide.
- Read your own ballot before you go: the Supervisor of Elections’ sample ballot lookup shows every question you will see.
Questions about the referendum go to Broward County Public Schools at 754-321-0000. Questions about voting go to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections at 954-357-8683.
Plantation Now does not endorse candidates or ballot questions. This story reports what the district and the ballot say. We will update it with the unofficial results after the polls close.
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