Miami-Dade School Board passes $7 billion budget, its largest, but tax rate will be lower

The Miami-Dade County School Board passed an operating budget of more than $7 billion Thursday night, the largest in its history and almost $2 billion more than approved for the current fiscal year

The nine-member board also unanimously approved the property tax rate to fund much of the district’s operations.

The tax rate, around $7 per every $1,000 of assessed property value, is about 12 cents lower than the current rate, but the budget is higher because of federal COVID-19 stimulus money, said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

“This means a tax rate that will be assessed on anyone who owns property in Miami-Dade. That tax rate will be lower than it was last year. In fact, it will still be among the lowest rates in over four decades,” Carvalho said.

The current rate is $7.12 for a budget of $5.6 billion.

At the approved new rate, the owner of a residence with a taxable value of around $350,000 will pay around $2,450 in school district property taxes in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Because the federal money is expected to stop coming in 2024, schools officials worry about funding the nation’s fourth-largest district after that, especially as it continues to see a decline in enrollment.

“The main reason for this is obviously because of the significant influx in federal funding through a number of different streams, which due to their non-recurring nature, will mean significant and heightened vigilance from the entire MDPS community to ensure that we avoid a fiscal cliff at the conclusion of the use of these dollars,” Carvalho said .

All the board members supported the budget with little discussion Thursday, but some expressed concern over the uncertainty of what will happen when the stimulus money from Washington is tapped out.

“I think that’s going to be our concern,” said District 7 Board Member Lubby Navarro. “How do we sustain this?”

The budget includes more money for teachers’ salaries, with the minimum starting annual wage for educators starting at $47,717.

Carvalho said there is more money for security and police at schools, mental health services and counseling and for programs aimed at catching up students who’ve fallen behind over the course of the pandemic.

“This is really a unique budget in a unique time in our district’s history,” Chief Financial Officer Ron Steiger told board members.