Miami-Dade School Board Approves First Reading of 2020-2021 Tentative Budget

The Miami-Dade School Board tentatively approved the school district’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-2021 budget last night, during its July budget public hearing. Once again, taxpayers will see a decrease in the millage rate from 7.148 to 7.129 for a net decrease of 0.019.

Voters overwhelmingly approved an assessment in November 2018, to be used exclusively for teacher salaries and school security. The newly available revenue has led to an increased $30 million investment in safety and security of students, ensuring that a police officer will be present at every school once campuses reopen.

The primary commitments of the proposed $5.5 billion budget include ensuring the safety and wellness of students and staff, continuing to excel in student achievement, providing for students’ mental health needs, and supporting our highly-effective instructional staff.

“Through the efforts of our visionary School Board and our award-winning financial team, the state-mandated and Board-controlled tax rates will be lower than last year’s, yet there will be increases to average teacher salaries, and allocations for safety and security,” said Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “It is imperative that we prioritize students through this values-based budget, especially in the face of a looming economic crisis.”

The budget also reflects the District’s commitment to student achievement by supporting the expansion of parental choice options, protecting services for students with disabilities and funding innovative District initiatives.

The Miami-Dade County School Board will hold the final public hearing and adopt the FY 2020-2021 budget on September 9, 2020 at 6 p.m. Additional information about the meeting will be posted at dadeschools.net/schoolboard.

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