Miami-Dade County is once again asking homeowners to kick in extra for public schools. County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to put a one-mill school property tax renewal on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, setting up a countywide vote on extending the levy through June 30, 2031 if it passes.
The tax is intended to keep additional money flowing to teacher pay and school security. Superintendent Jose Dotres has warned bluntly that the district cannot sustain current salary levels or keep a police officer in every school without voter approval. For a homeowner at the county’s median taxable value, the one-mill tax would add about $177 a year, roughly 6% of a typical $3,000 total property tax bill.
County calls November vote
According to a resolution posted by Miami-Dade County, the Board of County Commissioners unanimously adopted a measure calling a countywide election for Nov. 3, 2026 to ask voters whether the School Board should “maintain the existing one (1) mill ad valorem tax levy” for school operations.
The resolution lays out the ballot language, sets the levy period from July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2031, and provides for oversight by a citizen advisory committee.
Money for teachers and security
Dotres told the Miami Herald that the voter-approved levy has helped keep Miami-Dade teacher salaries in roughly the $60,000 to $70,000 range. Without the renewal, he warned, “Teacher salaries would drop significantly.”
He also told the Herald that the money helps fund additional security and that the district has “a police officer in every one of our school buildings.” The Herald notes that the $177 annual estimate at the county’s median taxable value is based on data from the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.
Recent history and what is at stake
Voters first approved the extra levy in 2018 and then again in 2022, when district leaders argued the revenue was critical to recruiting and retaining educators and expanding safety staffing. Reporting by WLRN noted that the 2022 ballot question was framed as a continuation and increase of the 2018 measure and that district officials said the funds helped grow the Miami-Dade School Police as they worked to staff campuses with officers.
How this compares nationally
The National Education Association’s “Rankings of the States” lists the national average public school teacher salary for 2023–24 at about $72,030, a reference point as Miami-Dade debates local pay and recruitment.
With sample ballots due and campaigning expected to ramp up in the coming months, the referendum will ultimately ask voters to weigh a modest annual cost for many homeowners against the district’s argument that the tax is key to keeping teachers in classrooms and officers in school buildings.
