ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — New money will soon be available for schools and teachers in St. Johns County after voters approved two local ballot questions: one continuing the half-cent sales tax to fund new schools and the other raising property taxes for increased teacher pay and for school programs like arts and athletics.
“My property taxes went through the roof over the last year or two. So, I’m generally against raising any type of taxes,” St. Johns County parent Matthew Konsky told Action News Jax.
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“I know a lot of teachers. I know that they need support, and if they are supported, then our children will be taken care of,” argued St. Johns County grandparent Paula Chaffee.
The half-cent sales tax was voted into effect nearly ten years ago in 2015. It was originally set to expire in 2025, but now it will be extended another decade. The sales tax is on the first $5,000 of all purchases made in the county.
St. Johns County Schools Superintendent Tim Forson told Action News Jax Wednesday morning that the half-cent sales tax has already directly funded the construction of two new schools in St. Johns County.
“I don’t think there’s any way of denying that the success of that half-cent will lead to the construction of schools in the next ten years as well,” Forson said.
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Meanwhile, the property tax referendum will raise property taxes one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value for the next four years. For example, for those owning a $500,000 home, they’ll see a $500 property tax increase.
That money, Forson told Action News Jax, will go directly into school programs and increased teacher pay, helping keep educators in St. Johns County Schools - where pay has lagged behind some other districts in Northeast Florida.
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“It’s important that we do whatever we can to support the employees, so they stay with us for the long-range, because that’s what supports the kids is having those same teachers, those same support personnel around them and in front of them year after year,” Forson said.
Forson added that property tax increase is set to go into effect next year with the changes in pay and teacher benefits likely to be seen next fall.
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