Hillsborough school board considers legal action against district

July 18, 2024

The Hillsborough County School Board will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to try to put a referendum on raising teacher salaries back on the November ballot.

The move came after county commissioners on Wednesday voted 4-3 to postpone the vote for two years, using a rarely used legal maneuver.

A defiant Van Ayers said he would ask school board members to authorize legal action against the district. The school superintendent called the commissioners’ actions an illegal attack on public education.

“Our position is that they have no right to delay this at all,” Ayers said during a hastily called news conference. “They are overriding the vote. They are trying to take power away from the school board by delaying the vote, and they have no right to do that.”

“It is a mystery to all of us in Hillsborough County Public Schools why four county commissioners are taking the decision out of the hands of the voters,” Ayers said.

Commissioners used an obscure law that allows them to vote on the timing of a referendum. Commissioner Joshua Wostal, who introduced the motion, cited rising inflation as the reason for the move. The move came after the board voted to put its own referendum on the November ballot that would extend the county’s Community Investment Tax for another 15 years. That extension of the half-cent sales tax would reduce the portion allocated to schools from 25% to 5%.

Ayers said starting salaries for teachers in Hillsborough lag behind those of other districts, leaving 500 teaching positions vacant for the upcoming school year.

“We recognize that we need to offer our employees more competitive wages,” he said on Wednesday. “That’s why we’re seeking this referendum to ensure that we have competitive wages for all our employees. Right now we’re not on a level playing field, but we need to be there.”

“I believe this is an attack on public education and I will not tolerate it.”