Polk superintendent says county commission "did not raise taxes" as millage referendum moves to voters

Superintendent Hyde used his Nov. 18 report to confirm that the Polk County Board of County Commissioners had voted earlier that day to place the school board's millage-refendum request on the Nov. 2026 ballot under Florida statute 1001.371.

"The BOCC did not vote to raise taxes," Hyde said. "They fulfilled their statutory and constitutional obligations by allowing this issue to move forward so that voters alone can decide whether or not to self-impose a millage tax referendum to support public education." He urged clarity about the process and pushed back on public comments suggesting a communication breakdown between the district and county staff, saying coordination on statutory steps and agenda placement had occurred.

Hyde framed the referendum as a voter decision and highlighted district performance trends: he said Polk County Public Schools had improved to a B district grade, reported rising student performance metrics, increasing graduation rates and an 88% retention rate for staff. He also noted the district serves "more than 116,000 students" and "nearly 14,000 dedicated professionals," and said these figures underscore both scale and responsibility in budgeting and planning.

Hyde criticized a commissioner's characterization of the district as "broken," calling it "inaccurate" and "uninformed," and invited county commissioners to participate in a district orientation program to better understand operations. He also announced upcoming work-session and meeting dates and confirmed the location for future meetings.

The superintendent's remarks set an administrative frame for the referendum conversation: officials stressed that the decision to place the measure on the ballot was procedural and that any tax increase would be decided by voters in 2026, while the board and staff prepare communications and planning around the potential measure.