South Florida schools would lose $1b under DeSantis’ tax plan, analysis finds

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ sweeping property tax relief proposal could leave public school districts facing billions in lost local revenue with no guaranteed replacement funding.

While the Republican governor has pitched his plan as a path toward giving property tax relief to 92% of homesteaded Floridians, lawmakers and Senate staff say the constitutional amendment language released last week does not exempt public schools from financial impact.

“The way I’ve read the governor’s proposal … there are no carveouts for education,” said State Sen. Don Gaetz, a Panhandle Republican and former Senate president. “We can’t find them.”

According to Gaetz, the Senate Committee on Finance and Tax confirmed that school districts will be treated the same as municipalities and counties under the governor’s property tax proposal.

That interpretation could have enormous implications for Florida’s public schools, which rely heavily on local property taxes to fund day-to-day operations and are already facing competition from charter school operators. In South Florida, declining enrollment and revenues have already led to school closures and staffing cuts.

READ MORE: Contradictions and confusion: Questions surround DeSantis’ property tax plan

DeSantis’ proposal — which the Legislature is taking up this week during a three-day special session — would eventually raise Florida’s homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000, dramatically shrinking the taxable value of owner-occupied homes across the state. If approved by voters this November, the amendment would also authorize local governments and school districts to exempt even more property value from taxation in future years.

DeSantis has said 92% of homesteaded Floridians would eventually pay no property taxes under his proposal.

What the administration has not explained is how school districts would replace the lost revenue.

Big losses projected

A new analysis by the non-partisan Florida Policy Institute estimates that raising the homestead exemption to $250,000 would reduce annual school district property tax revenue by roughly $5 billion statewide. If lawmakers ultimately move toward the broader goal of eliminating property taxes on homesteaded properties altogether, annual school district losses could reach nearly $8.6 billion, according to the organization, which describes itself as non-partisan.

The analysis found that every school district in Florida would experience revenue reductions, though the impact would vary significantly by county depending on property values and the share of homes receiving homestead exemptions.

The losses would impact South Florida particularly hard. According to the analysis, Miami-Dade County Public Schools would lose over $500 million in annual revenue under a $250,000 homestead exemption, and $1 billion per year if property taxes are fully eliminated. Broward County Public Schools would lose $473.8 million annually under a $250,000 exemption, and $875 million per year under a full property tax elimination.

A spokesperson for Broward County Public Schools, John J. Sullivan, projected lower revenue losses for the district; roughly $293.1 annually under the $250,000 exemption and $803 million per year under a full elimination. But he still signaled concern that the governor’s proposal would undercut Broward schools’ services, and noted that the district made a $100 million budget cut for the upcoming school year to address financial issues.

“These are critical funds that support teachers, school safety, academic programs and essential student services,” Sullivan said. “We remain hopeful the Legislature will exclude public schools from any expanded homestead exemption proposal, as it has consistently demonstrated support for public education, most recently through funding for districts experiencing declining enrollment.”

In a statement on Monday, the Miami-Dade school district said it was still reviewing the governor’s proposal, and that it “appreciated” a proposal approved by the Florida House in February that exempted education funding from property tax eliminations.

READ MORE: There’s a way to see what DeSantis’ tax plan might save you. Here’s what to know

‘This mess will be in somebody else’s hands’

State Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Miami Gardens Democrat, voiced concerns about the governor’s proposal, arguing that voters could focus on the prospect of lower tax bills without fully understanding the consequences for local services.

“I don’t think my colleagues are in a position to vote for something that we know, when it reaches the voters, could be misinterpreted,” Jones said. “They’re going to see it as being a cost saver, but not realizing that there are greater implications on the other end.”

Jones added that local governments have warned that losing billions of dollars in property tax revenue could ultimately affect schools, fire rescue services, parks and other local programs. He also noted that many of the practical consequences of the proposal would likely fall to future governors and legislatures to manage.

“When and if this goes into place, Governor DeSantis will no longer be the governor,” Jones said. “This mess will be in somebody else’s hands, and the Legislature’s.”

The governor’s office did not respond to questions on Thursday about the fiscal impact on school districts, whether the state would guarantee replacement funding and how much local education revenue could evaporate across the state’s 67 counties.

The constitutional amendment does not establish a dedicated mechanism to offset potential school district losses.

“I can’t speak for the governor, but one of the things that has been said is that if there are school districts that can’t make it, there’s a possibility of backfilling with some state funding, but that’s an entirely separate matter,” Gaetz said. “That’s not included in the constitutional amendment as I see it.”

Instead, lawmakers would be left to sort out the consequences later.

“If the constitutional amendment passes, then there will have to be implementing legislation that will be taken up in the 2027 and 2028 legislative sessions,” Gaetz said. “I think that’s when you would work out: Are there shortfalls? Where are the shortfalls? And what are we going to do as a state, if anything, about the shortfalls?”

The comments underscore the unusual structure of the proposal: voters could approve a massive constitutional overhaul before the state fully determines how to pay for its effects.

School districts are especially exposed because property taxes are one of the few major local revenue sources available to them. Districts use those dollars to fund teacher salaries, transportation, maintenance, security, utilities and other operating expenses.

If the tax base shrinks significantly, districts could eventually face pressure to cut spending, seek higher millage rates in other areas or rely more heavily on annual appropriations from Tallahassee.

That could fundamentally shift power over school funding from local communities to the state Legislature.

The uncertainty also creates difficult planning questions for districts preparing future budgets. Because the amendment would not take effect immediately, lawmakers would spend the next several years determining how aggressively to implement the tax reductions and whether to replace lost local revenue with state dollars.

Gaetz said many of those details are unlikely to be resolved during next week’s special session.

“I don’t think the fine-tuning of that will be discussed on the floor on Monday and Tuesday,” he said. “But I can be wrong.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 11:28 AM.