Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Referendum Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Broward school board debates how to split referendum dollars as unions demand teacher-first allocation
Summary
Board and public speakers debated whether the referendum should continue to fund three buckets—compensation, safety/security and mental health—or shift more or all funds to school-based educator pay. Staff will return detailed scenarios and position-level breakdowns ahead of a vote and the county’s ballot deadline.
The Broward County School Board spent much of its workshop probing how the district should allocate referendum funds if voters approve a continuation.
John Sullivan, chief of staff and communications, reviewed the superintendent’s recommendation: keep compensation as the largest share (75%) while adjusting safety/security from 17% to 18% and mental health from 8% to 7%. Sullivan said the recommendation is more restrictive on eligibility than prior rounds, excluding certain director pay bands from supplements and preserving the referendum’s primary role in personnel supplements.
"The superintendent's recommendation is mostly aligned with the current [percentages], with the difference that safety would go up to 18% and mental health would go to 7%," Sullivan said.
Board members and public speakers offered contrasting visions. Several members—including board member Thompson—proposed larger shares for compensation (Thompson floated 80% for compensation, 10% safety, 10% mental health). Dr. Zeman proposed an even more radical scenario that would use referendum funds almost entirely for school-based educators to boost starting pay significantly over four years, an idea he framed as a strategy to recruit and retain teachers and to win back students.
Union leaders and education employees pressed the board to prioritize school-based staff. Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, urged the board to allocate 100% of referendum funds to educators at the school level, accusing past budgets of diverting money away from classrooms and calling for a long-term commitment to teacher pay.
"What we're saying is put the 100% in the schools for the educators, principals, APs, teachers, everyone that puts hands on students," Fusco said.
Board members who opposed removing safety and mental-health language warned that excising those categories could reduce voter support. Several members urged caution about changing the ballot language, noting the supervisor of elections’ submission deadline (discussed in the meeting as June 8) and the county’s calendar for ballot preparation.
The superintendent and staff did not recommend an on-the-spot change to ballot language. Instead, the board asked staff to return with multiple scenarios and data: a break-out of positions funded by general fund, referendum and state allocations; a position-level list for each pay band showing who would be eligible; baseline funding estimates for safety/mental-health positions absent referendum supplements; and legal advice on whether and how ballot language could be revised before county deadlines.
No vote was taken. The chair recessed the workshop to proceed to a special school board meeting, and staff scheduled follow-up briefings and a special meeting to consider allocation scenarios and any language adjustments before the county’s ballot timeline.
The board’s next steps will determine whether the referendum will emphasize teacher compensation as a recruitment tool or preserve the multi-bucket approach that has previously included safety and mental-health funding.
