On Nov. 3, Floridians will vote on Amendment 3, which is marketed as "property tax relief."
I understand the appeal, because homeowners are under pressure.
Amendment 3 would cap or restrict how much local governments raise in property tax revenue, permanently limiting their ability to respond as costs and needs change.
State economists have warned the recurring hit to local non-school revenue could approach $12 billion statewide.
Sarasota County could lose as much as $210 million in revenue by 2029.
As a Sarasota County School Board member, I think voters deserve to look past the slogan and ask one question:
Who pays when Tallahassee cuts local revenue and limits how the rest can be spent?
School district levies are exempt from the amendment. But that
carve-out is narrower than it sounds.
Schools depend on local governments for the supports that help children arrive ready to learn: crossing guards, law enforcement, mental-health partnerships and public safety chief among them.
Amendment 3 continues something already underway.
For years, Tallahassee has pulled decisions away from school boards, writing more of the rules and narrowing more of the options while failing to fund public schools adequately.
Alarmingly, districts must cover the costs and yet are accountable for the results.
Amendment 3 deepens that pattern: tighter central control over school finance and less room for communities to respond to their own needs – especially on safety issues, teacher salaries, and mental health services.
Safety isn’t one line in a district budget; it depends on law enforcement, EMS, and emergency management in many different scenarios.
For example, crossing guards, paid for by local municipalities, stand outside our elementary and middle schools before and after hours because not every driver slows down – and children don’t always watch the traffic.
If city and county revenues dry up, that cost must shift to the district.
Schools also serve as shelters during hurricanes and other disasters.
Districts pay to harden the buildings; counties fund operations. Our principals run the shelters alongside district custodians, food workers, nurses and police.
The district bills the county; the county, in turn, bills FEMA. If every budget shrinks, who fills that gap?
Regarding teacher pay, the reality is Sarasota competes for teachers in a brutal housing market.
Amendment 3 wouldn’t cut school millage directly but squeezing local revenue narrows everything that makes this community livable for educators.
The district will face painful choices, including stretching salary schedules, delaying improvements, leaving vacancies open, asking employees to do more with less.
Regarding student mental health, we know children bring anxiety, grief, trauma, family instability and economic stress into classrooms every day.
Counselors, social workers, psychologists and school nurses are key to how children learn; they are not optional extras
Much of that support depends on county dollars and non-profit partnerships filling gaps the state hasn’t funded.
Amendment 3 drains the local capacity those partnerships run on.
If Amendment 3 passes, the costs won’t disappear; they will shift.
Renters, small businesses, and working families will see the difference through higher fees, reduced services or costs passed along by property owners.
Students living in apartments are still Sarasota County students.
Children whose parents run small businesses are still our children.
Relief for some taxpayers that reduces shared services isn’t solving affordability. It’s just moving the bill.
Local school boards are the level of government closest to families.
We know which campuses need work, where shortages are worst and which services keep children safe.
Tallahassee cannot see every neighborhood with the same clarity.
I’m not against tax relief. I’m against a permanent constitutional restriction that sounds simple but creates real strain in a classroom, a fire station or a safety plan.
Instead, Tallahassee should address insurance costs, invest in workforce housing, fund schools adequately and give communities the tools to solve local problems.
I urge you to follow the money on Amendment 3 and vote "No."
Tom Edwards represents District 3 on the Sarasota County School Board.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Amendment 3 could make Sarasota's schools pay the price. | Opinion
