How The Millage Referendum Could Help Our Community

Opinion by Jessica Vaughn,
Hillsborough County School Board, District 3

Since being elected to represent District 3 on the Hillsborough School Board in 2020, myself, my fellow School Board members and the superintendent have all worked diligently to overcome the financial challenges that have plagued this District for close to a decade. 

We are proud to state that by the end of this fiscal year, Hillsborough County Public Schools is slated to overcome a $150-million deficit, realizing a more stable financial stature that will translate into a brighter future for our organization and, most importantly, for our students.

As a District, we emerged from this financial shortfall partly by having to make extremely difficult staffing decisions at all levels, which undoubtedly had a negative impact on our students and families. Florida currently is ranked 43rd in per-pupil funding, leaving many school districts like ours without adequate funds to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers as we all contend with rising inflation that is leaving educational systems with severe staffing shortages. Twenty-one other districts in Florida have had to pass a millage referendum in order to properly fund their school districts.  

On August 23, 2022, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to place a millage referendum on the ballot that would provide an estimated $126 million per year over four years to our District if approved by voters. 

If this measure passes, 75% of this money would go toward providing salary increases for teachers and support staff. We realize the crucial role our educators play in the lives of our children and families, and we must continue to examine proactive solutions to illustrate their importance to our community and its collective success.

If approved, the additional funds would also be utilized to expand Art, Music and P.E. for our youngest learners, offering equitable access across all grade bands. These funds also would provide us a unique chance to elevate our Workforce Development Programs to develop a talent pipeline for students in medical, construction and logistics- related fields.

You may be wondering how this would impact you if approved. Using a $300,000 property value as an example, the millage increase would translate to an additional $22.92 per month, or $275 per year for a homeowner.

Hillsborough is the only large school district in the state that has not passed a millage increase. 

While we understand the referendum may be a heavy lift for some families in a time of such uncertainty, it has the potential to make an enormous difference in the lives of our teachers, staff, students and families. If you see the value that strong and thriving public schools bring to our community, I strongly encourage you to vote “yes” for the millage referendum during the Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, August 23. All voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote for this Millage Referendum. The funding from this referendum increase will allow us to work together to adequately support our schools, teachers and staff while creating a brighter future for our students and our community as a whole.

Responding To Those Who Criticized My July 26 Editorial

Gary Nager Editorial

I received about four or five emails and/or phone calls to our office about my recent editorial, which ran in both the July 26 New Tampa and Aug 9 Wesley Chapel issues.

All of these emails and phone calls have claimed that I am anti-Republican (or, at least, a RINO), anti-DeSantis, pro-Democrat and anti-American, but nothing could be further from the truth.

One woman who didn’t leave her name or number and had her number blocked (likely because she knew I would call her back to discuss her call) said that if she ever saw me out in the community, she’d walk up to me, scream and give me the finger to my face. “Do you know what the Democrats have done to this country, a-hole?,” I believe were her exact words. 

First of all, RINO or not, I am a registered Republican who voted for Gov. DeSantis and most (but definitely not all) of the Republican candidates in most of the elections since I’ve lived in Florida — which is now almost 30 years — and I don’t believe I’ve ever not cast a ballot in any of those elections (including every city election in March of odd-numbered years when I lived in New Tampa from 1995-2009). The pages of the Neighborhood News also show that I always have staunchly supported our military and charities geared to help them.

But, just as I did when I lived (and cast ballots) in New York, I have never voted strictly along party lines. I have always voted for the candidates and referendums I believed would do the best job of protecting my family, my business, my city, county, state and country.

While I don’t agree with everything Gov. DeSantis has done during his time in office, I greatly appreciate that he kept my business and so many others open during the pandemic and I definitely will still vote for him in November because I believe he is the best candidate in the race. Charlie Crist is a flip-flopper who can’t make up his mind what he is and Nikki Fried boasts about being a “true” Democrat, but based on the many terrible things the Democratic party has done nationwide, I can’t support a gubernatorial candidate who clings to an agenda I don’t support.

The only reason I started with the governor’s race in my editorial is because it’s one of the “biggest” elections being decided in Florida in November, not because I support Crist or Fried. If my critics had read the entire editorial (and their comments suggest that maybe they didn’t), they’d see that I was much more focused on trying to get people in the communities I have served for almost 29 years. who tend to ignore voting in Primary Elections, to cast a ballot this time around — especially those who don’t think public school teachers are paid enough, because they definitely are not.

I and my sons (both of whom make more money than I ever have) all received public school educations only from Kindergarten through college and we all had wonderful teachers who deserve to make (at least) a living wage, too. Since the millage referendum in both Pasco and Hillsborough counties will only appear on the Aug. 23 ballot, those who choose to not vote until November will likely (in my opinion) make it much harder for these two ballot measures to pass, especially in Pasco. 

The one thing I do agree with that the emailers pointed out is that I did neglect to mention China as a major national issue and I do believe that President Biden and the Democrats dominating Congress have made our country less safe with many of the stances they’ve taken with regards to China, Russia, North Korea and our enemies in the Middle East. I hope the Republican party can take back at least one, if not both, of those legislative bodies in order to keep better checks on policies that don’t make sense to me.

No, I never voted for Pres. Trump (nor did I vote for Biden or Hillary Clinton, however) because I didn’t like him personally and he’s done nothing since he left the White House to change my opinion of him. But, despite that fact, I do feel our military and our country were stronger when he was our President than they are now.

I’ll also just remind everyone — as I always have when I receive emails/calls like these — is that page 3 is my Editorial page, where I give my opinions each issue on a particular subject. The problem that so often happens is that people 1) often don’t read the entire editorial and, even when they do, 2) they don’t believe I’m entitled to my voice my opinions in my community newspapers, on page 3 or otherwise.

But, after 29 years of putting my opinions out there for tens of thousands of people every two weeks, I wouldn’t still be in business if most of our readers shared that belief — even though they may also disagree with me from time to time. And, despite how some readers may feel about me, I will always support anyone’s right to disagree with me — and appreciate that they still read the Neighborhood News despite their feelings towards me.