SUPERINTENDENT CARVALHO RECOMMENDS TAX RATE DECREASE

Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho today recommended that the Miami-Dade School Board decrease the total millage property owners would pay for the 2013-2014 fiscal school year.  

The recommendation came after the school district was notified by the Miami-Dade Tax Appraiser that county tax rolls would be about four percent higher this year.  This information was confirmed late yesterday by Florida’s Commissioner of Education, who reviewed tax rolls for all school districts in the process of establishing Required Local Effort.

Previous estimates by state economists had estimated only a 1.9 percent increase in tax rolls.  The difference allows the School Board to reduce the Required Local Effort millage from 5.295 to 5.183, producing a substantial savings for taxpayers.   

The 2013-14 budget protects the classroom, school spending and bilingual programs; protects teachers and provides raises; and expands Exceptional Student Education support and parental choice options.  The budget protects the economic viability of the school district and honors the promise to voters of $5 of General Obligation Bond millage for every $100,000 in taxable value.

The budget will not harm elective programs, nor reduce school safety spending, athletics or after-school activities. The size of the District’s central office will not increase.  The budget does not compromise the District’s goal of complying with class-  size mandates, and teachers will not face layoffs for economic reasons.  It will not allow the impact of federal sequestration to harm direct school services.  The budget does not reduce the district’s reserves or increase operating millage.

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