Should Miami-Dade keep a tax for teacher pay, school security? Voters will decide

Miami-Dade voters will decide this fall whether to keep a property tax that boosts teacher pay and provides extra dollars for school security.

The tax is one of three that property owners pay to fund the Miami-Dade school system, which includes charter schools. Voters have approved the extra tax twice before, in 2018 and 2022. On Tuesday, Miami-Dade commissioners unanimously granted a request by the School Board to ask voters to retain the tax for another four years through 2031. If renewed, the tax is expected to generate about $550 million annually, a school system spokesperson said.

Superintendent Jose Dotres said the voter-approved tax has allowed Miami-Dade to keep teacher salaries on par with the national average, in a range between $60,000 and $70,000. If the referendum fails to get the required majority vote in November, he said the school system’s budget couldn’t sustain that pay once the current voter approval expires next year.

“Teacher salaries would drop significantly,” Dotres told the Miami Herald after the meeting. He also said the money pays for extra security at schools.

“We have a police officer in every one of our school buildings,” he said.

The tax equals one “mil” — a legal term used in taxation that amounts to one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.

In Miami-Dade, the median taxable value for homes is $177,141. For that homeowner, the school tax that’s up for a vote would cost about $177 a year. That’s roughly 6% of the total tax bill of about $3,000 for schools, countywide services, and municipal and state services, according to Herald calculations using data from the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s Office.

This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 2:12 PM.