Amid teacher vacancy crisis, Duval Schools presses the case for voters to approve tax increase

As the new school year rapidly approaches, Florida school districts are still scrambling to get qualified adults in front of the classroom. Jacksonville is no exception.

In Duval County the district's average teacher pay — the lowest among the state's large urban school districts — looms large over a vacancy problem that has been brewing for years, was turbocharged by the COVID-19 pandemic and, thanks to new rules imposed by the state Legislature, is adding even heavier workloads for Duval's veteran teachers.

The vacancy crisis is why district officials say they are asking voters to approve a 1-mill property tax increase on the Aug. 23 ballot. Put simply: Better pay will make district teaching jobs more attractive and better compensate those already on staff, advocates say.

Early voting begins Monday and runs through Aug. 21.

Teacher vacancies: Duval Schools reports 389 teacher vacancies. Here's a list by school.

Voting: What you need to know before voting on Duval Schools' property tax referendum

Monica Kirkland, who has taught in Duval County Public Schools for 11 years, plans on waving signs this weekend in support of the property tax hike.

"I feel like teachers do so much for our students, for the communities. But a lot of the time, we put ourselves on the back burner," she said.

The district plans to use the bulk of revenue from the proposed 1-mill property tax increase to fund an annual bonus that education officials call "supplements." If the tax passes, it would mean at least an additional $5,000 for teachers every year for the next four years.

Kirkland said the bonus would make a big difference for her and her colleagues.

"It would give me a sense that what I do is valued," she said. "Quite often we feel undervalued and underappreciated. We're not asking for money for luxury vacations — we're asking for our basic income needs to be met so we can live comfortably and not have to worry about working second jobs."

The proposed 1-mill increase, coupled with the School Board's proposed 5.4 millage rate, would bring this year's millage to 6.4 — or about $800 annually for the owner of a $150,000 Jacksonville home with a $25,000 homestead exemption.

In Duval County, the average teacher salary — $47,458.26 — ranks last among the state's seven largest urban school districts and 40th among all 69 districts.

Supporters of the tax, like the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, Duval Teachers United and the Cathedral Arts Project, say if it is approved, the funding will help recruit and retain teachers as well as students to traditional public schools in Jacksonville. Over the last five years, the district has seen a decrease in enrollment as students move to private and charter schools in the area.

Property tax supporters host rally in support of raising teacher salaries

On Thursday property tax advocates flexed their political muscle with a rally at the Jessie Ball duPont Fund that featured prominent local civic leaders, including two former JAX Chamber board chairs, Florida Blue executive Darnell Smith and retired JEA lobbyist Mike Hightower. Smith and Hightower, who is also a retired Florida Blue executive, are co-chairs of the pro-tax campaign, "Keep Duval's Best Teachers."

They were joined by Jacksonville Public Education Fund Executive Director Rachael Tutwiler Fortune and a group of local teachers.

"We want the people in Jacksonville to certainly support the 1-mill increase," Smith said. "That increase will allow our very experienced teachers to receive the additional pay to remain in the classroom."

Smith said that the district is seeing teachers leave the field to go to higher-paying professions. He said that while state funding has helped raise starting wages for new teachers, revenue from this tax will help boost veteran teachers' salaries.

"We have to complete the job in making certain that experienced teachers are also getting paid," he said. "By doing so, we'll be able to retain those teachers, reduce the number of losses and get to the point where teachers are staying in the profession and our students are benefiting."

Teacher vacancies in Jacksonville cause increased workload

For Nathan Hafner, a Beauclerc Elementary School teacher in an understaffed ESE department, the high number of vacancies across the district means a greater workload.

"[For that reason,] myself and another teacher had to do the work of three teachers, which also meant larger class sizes when they were intended to be smaller to best serve out students," he said. "The supplement would be a gesture of gratitude from the community for all the hard work, time and energy teachers — including myself — have given to the students of Duval County."

Both Hafner and Kirkland said they feel like raising teacher salaries is an important gesture to retain educators within Jacksonville schools.

"I don't know what else we can do other than possibly putting more money on the table to get people to want to become teachers," Kirkland said.

Emily Bloch is a youth culture and education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her. Sign up for her newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville teachers say they support referendum amid staffing crisis