- May 13, 2026
When it comes to a tax referendum to increase teacher and support staff salaries in Volusia County Schools, the School Board is saying, "Not right now."
School Board members voted unanimously on Tuesday, May 12, against moving forward with a referendum that would have asked voters to approve whether or not to add one mill of ad valorem taxes on their property tax bill to fund teacher and staff pay for four years. This was an initiative led by teachers' union Volusia United Educators, which previously stated the referendum would generate about $70 million.
While School Board members voted 3-2 in April to proceed with the referendum, they got cold feet at Tuesday's meeting. Board members said they received many calls from constituents asking them to halt the referendum due to the financial strain families face today as a result of inflation and rising gas prices.
"I received so many phone calls," School Board member Jamie Haynes said. "And each phone call that I received was another story: 'I'm already choosing between my medicine and groceries, and you want to increase my property taxes?'"
Haynes and Board Chair Ruben Colon both voted against the referendum at the April meeting. Haynes felt she had too many unanswered questions to support it at this time.
Colon felt it was the wrong time to add more taxes in light of the economy.
"I think the world is in a worse place right now than it was even a month ago when we spoke, and there's no end in sight right now," Colon said.
He echoed his sentiments from the April meeting, saying: "It's not a no — it's a not right now."
The School Board's decision was a disappointing one for VUE President Elizabeth Albert, who said at the meeting that she thought she would get the opportunity to be invited to the dais to answer questions the board had in April. A meeting to go over the referendum, she said, was scheduled and then canceled by the district.
Thirty-three other districts in the state already have millage in place to help fund teacher pay. More districts are in talks to do the same, Albert said.
"There was a comment made about folks struggling to be able to buy groceries and buy medicine — your employees are those people," Albert said. "They absolutely are and the problem with speculating about what would be gained from a referendum versus what is given, we haven't had any opportunity to present our data and the strategy or the plan."
A referendum for teacher pay isn't a new issue for Volusia County. In 2012, a similar referendum that sought one mill for salaries, academic programs and student activities failed by a slim margin: 909 votes.
For the board members that OK'd moving the referendum forward in April, they did so more because they supported giving voters a choice, and less because they personally supported the issue.
"Last time we spoke about this, I was very clear that I personally didn't support it but wanted the voters to have a say," School Board member Jessie Thompson said. "... I got phone call after phone call after phone call from people in my district that echoed what you said, Mr. Colon. They said there might be some people in our district that this isn't a big deal to be added to their taxes, but for a lot of people, even $200 is too much right now, and the times have gotten worse since I've gotten those phone calls."
This was a tough call, School Board member Donna Brosemer said. She listed recent expenses made the district, including the 2024 purchase of a school site in DeBary — later sold in March — and the use of one-time coronavirus relief dollars to fund recurring expenses.
"I do not see a revenue problem for this district," Brosemer said. "I see a priority problem, and because of that, I have vacillated between neutral and negative. I believe strongly that this is on us to fix for the teachers, but I also believe strongly that the voters should have a say."
Prior to listening to comments by her fellow members, Brosemer said she was somewhere between voting against and abstaining altogether.
School Board member Krista Goodrich said the number of people who asked her to vote against moving the referendum forward was "overwhelming." She suggested the board make an effort to meet with the district's chief financial officer to understand the budget and figure out places to cut so teachers can still get a raise.
A referendum is a possibility for the future, she added.
"I think we've got a couple years to work on how this looks going forward," Goodrich said.
