Manatee board presses tax collector after 2% commission taken from voted half‑penny sales tax; members warn charter students will lose

Manatee County School Board members on June 24 pressed staff over a new practice by the county tax collector to take a commission from the district's voter‑approved half‑penny sales surtax, a change district staff said has reduced available money for programs and the charter schools' proportionate share.

The discussion followed a public comment from longtime district employee Steve Zickafus, who applauded the board for proposing to share the surtax with charter students but said the district's plan "deducts more than 12,000,000 annually in debt service tied to the district's 2,017 sales tax bond before funds are distributed. That significantly reduces the overall amount charter students can receive." He also warned language allowing future debt to be deducted "opens the door to ongoing reductions in charter student funding."

Finance…