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Tax collector, schools announce $52,000 local check; Kids Tag Art program expands to high schools
Summary
Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder presented checks totaling about $52,000 to Polk County Public Schools for the Kids Tag Art program and announced a new high-school component that will put student artwork on county tax bills with scholarships for students and teachers.
Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder presented a countywide check to Polk County Public Schools on June 10, 2025 as part of the annual Kids Tag Art program and announced an expansion that will include high-school artwork on local tax-billing envelopes.
Why it matters: the program channels local sponsorship and community donations to support elementary‑school art teachers and art instruction; the initiative has grown statewide and provides recurring, targeted classroom funding at the school level.
Tedder said the Kids Tag Art program — started in Polk County 19 years ago — has grown to include more than 15 tax collectors across Florida and has raised more than $2.5 million statewide. Locally, he said the program has raised more than $750,000 for Polk County elementary art programs. This year every participating school (public and private) will receive a base distribution of $625 to support elementary art teachers; the district check presented at the meeting was approximately $52,000, and Tedder said more than $60,000 was being distributed countywide that day.
Tedder announced a new high-school component called “Kids Tax Art”: a piece of artwork created by a Polk County high‑school student will appear on the back of a tax-bill envelope this coming November. The student whose art is chosen will receive a $2,500 scholarship and the student’s art teacher will receive $500. Tedder credited Southern Homes of Polk County as a lead sponsor for the new high‑school award.
Polk County Schools staff and the district’s Fine Arts department were present to honor student winners and honorable mentions selected in the Congressional Art Competition and other programs. Superintendent Michael Hyde and district staff thanked community sponsors and volunteers in the presentation.
Ending: Tedder and district leaders asked for continued community sponsorship; distribution timing and scholarship awards will be managed through the tax‑collector’s office and the district’s Fine Arts program.
