Q&A of the Day – How Should You Vote on Palm Beach County’s Question 1?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: Brian, Thank you for your coverage of the Florida amendments. I’ve been sharing your stories with friends online to help inform and to get the message out. Will you be covering the PBC school sales tax proposal?
Bottom Line: Ask and you shall receive. I’ve had requests for both Palm Beach County’s Question 1 and on the Martin Forever referendum in Martin County as well. I’ll cover Palm Beach County’s question today and Martin’s County’s question Friday. In addressing today’s question...
I’ve found some voters have been either unaware of, or are confused by, Palm Beach County’s Question 1 on the November ballot. There are a couple of reasons that seem to be behind the lack of awareness and/or the confusion. 1) Palm Beach County’s Question 1 from the August primary election 2) What the effect of the proposal, if passed, would be.
It’s been brought to my attention that searches for Palm Beach County’s Question 1 most commonly will bring up the question voters approved in the August Primary election extending the ability for the County to continue to offer select tax breaks and incentives for businesses to relocate or expand within the community. November’s election is a new election and with it there’s a new County Question 1. This has to do with an extension of a special sales tax sought by the Palm Beach County School District.
In 2016 Palm Beach County’s voters approved a one percent special local option sales tax for the School District that was presented as the “Penny Tax”. The special sales tax was approved for ten years and is set to expire December 31st, 2025. Should that happen Palm Beach County’s sales tax would drop by one percent. Rather than allowing the entire special sales tax to expire, however, the Palm Beach County School District is seeking to retain half of the sales tax increase through what they’re now calling the “Half Penny” sales tax.
Here’s how it is set to appear on voter ballots:
County Question 1
Title: PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOLS SECURITY, TECHNOLOGY, FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE ONE-HALF CENT SALES SURTAX
Summary: To support educational opportunities for students by upgrading and enhancing safety and security of schools; classroom technology and equipment, school buildings and facilities, and school buses, for Palm Beach County traditional public and charter public schools; shall the School Board levy a one-half cent sales surtax beginning January 1, 2026 and, by law, automatically ending December 31, 2035, with oversight of all funds by an independent committee of citizens and experts?
The financial impact as noted by the school district is said to be this: If approved by voters, this “Strong Schools, Strong Communities” measure is anticipated to generate $200 million annually ($2 billion over 10 years for District-operated schools and charter schools) to support school security, technology, facilities, and infrastructure. So, let’s discuss the merits of the proposal.
I’ll start by saying that I reject the premise of this proposal. Something that’s been an issue for me dating back to the 2016 referendum was/is the lack of intellectual honesty in the advancement of this proposal. It is presented in an inherently dishonest manner. Just as the 2016 tax was not a penny, but rather a 1% sales tax increase on purchases within Palm Beach County, the current proposal is for a 0.5% sales tax increase on purchases. It was presented in the context of a penny, and now a half penny for marketing purposes to attempt to gain passage of the proposal. It’s intellectually dishonest to tell voters that the proposed sales tax is only a half penny when greater than 99% of transactions are higher than $1 in value.
Following the passage of the 2016 referendum I had a listener reach out to me saying that they thought that the sales tax increase would only be a penny per purchase as opposed to one percent of the total purchase price. I’m sure they weren’t alone. The least the school district, which is tasked with education and informing our children, should do, is to be open and transparent in informing the community about the cost of the proposed tax to consumers (as opposed to using a misleading marketing approach to the proposal). But that’s not the only factor calling the proposed special sales tax into question.
The 2016-2017 Budget for the Palm Beach County School District was presented at just under $2.5 billion. The Palm Beach County School District’s proposed budget for the 2025-2026 school year is just under $5.7 billion. The Palm Beach County School District’s student population in 2016 was 195,455 students. The district’s most recent student population count was 187,943 students. The district suggests the student population may rise by approximately 900 students over the next year.
So, to put this in perspective here’s what we’ve seen with the school district over the past decade:
- Student population: -3.4%
- PBC School District spending: +228%
Any questions? The School District, like all local taxing authorities, has benefitted greatly from the booming local economy and property values over the past decade. There is no valid justification for a special school sales tax continuation at any level.