Frequently Asked Questions

On Nov 8, 2022, 66,924 voters in Charlotte County voted Yes, for continuing the current millage.  That was 77.46% of the total votes cast.  The School District millage will continue through the 2026-2027 school year and will most likely back on the ballot in November 2026.

The referendum is for the continuation of the one mill school tax. This school enhancement tax has been levied for four years beginning in 2018.  One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value for your home. In Florida your assessed value on a homesteaded property can be much less than the market value due to Save Our Homes legislation. Save Our Homes limits the increase in assessed value to 3% per year or the change in Consumer Price Index, whichever is less.

The median assessed value for homesteaded properties for the 2020 tax roll is $149,773 and the median taxable value is $124,773.  Here’s a sample based on $150,000 taxable value:

 $150,000

 -$25,000 (homestead exemption for 1 person)

 $125,000 / $1,000 = $125 additional tax if referendum passes.  

For only 34 cents per day, you can help us take our schools from good to great! 

Yes.  Referendum funds have had a direct impact on the success of all schools in Charlotte County. If we want to remain the GREAT DISTRICT that our community deserves, we need to continue the initiatives that the referendum funds. These include:

• Hiring highly qualified teachers and staff at competitive wages. 

• Extending the school day by 30 minutes. This equates to an entire year of additional education for Charlotte County students.

• Art, music and theater programs.

• Eliminating the “Pay to Participate” fee so that EVERY child has equal access to enriching after school activities.

• Technology to enhance instruction.

• Workforce programs such as the Airframe Mechanics Program.

The tax will last for four years and will be voted on again in November 2026.

The state of Florida finances schools through the Florida Education Finance Program. Each year, the legislature sets the allocation per Unweighted Full Time Enrolled Student. In 2012-13 CCPS received $6,461 per student. Next year the projection is $8,460 per student. Funding per student has increased on average 3% per year over the previous decade.

Yes.  In order to maintain the level of program services and competitive wages for teachers desired by the community, we will need the referendum to be renewed.

The initiatives which make our School District a GREAT district will be cut. We will have no choice but to cut pay, eliminate positions, reduce the number of art, music and theater programs, and charge families for after-school sports and other enrichment programs. Then, we will keep doing what we always have. We will use taxpayer dollars in the most efficient and effective manner possible to provide the best education we can for the children of Charlotte County. 

Florida State Statutes only allow us to use property tax for operating expenses such as teacher salaries.  Sales tax can only be used for capital expenses like new schools.  This school tax is to help us offer the same programs that surrounding counties have for their students and to pay competitive wages to teachers and staff.

The estimated cost to mail ballots for a special election for the referendum is $300,000.  The School Board feels this would be fiscally irresponsible.  Putting it on the November ballot will result in more citizens having the opportunity to vote on this important issue.

There will be no cost to the taxpayers to put the referendum on the November 2022 ballot. A PAC (Political Action Committee) has been formed by a group of citizens to pay for any efforts to promote the referendum.  

The Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer report to the Independent Referendum Operating Committee two times per year. Each report includes the budget for the referendum with a comparison of year-to-date expenses. These reports can be accessed on our web site www.yourcharlotteschools.net under the District Tab labeled Accountability.

In 2021, MGT Consulting Group (MGT) was hired by Charlotte County Public Schools (CCPS) to conduct a high-level efficiency and effectiveness review to study the major functional areas that support the District. The final report, dated March 29, 2022, concluded that the District has been a frugal steward of the resources that were afforded through the referendum. Without the resources the District would not have excelled to the rank of 13th in the State. This momentum is critically important to the continued and enhanced success of the students in the District. If the next referendum is not passed, the District, and therefore, the community will suffer irreparable damage to the current success of CCPS, and these incredible learning gains will quickly dissipate. As a result, students, staff, and the community will be negatively impacted. 

Please click on this link for the complete report.  MGT Consulting Study

31 districts out of 67 school districts in Florida have passed a referendum. Of those 20 have passed referendums for operational expenses. The remainder have passed sales tax referendums for capital expenses (building new schools).

The quality of a community’s school system has a direct impact on a resident’s quality of life.  If families and businesses do not have confidence in our school system, they will not move to Charlotte County.  In order for our community to sustain itself, we need a diverse economy.  We need businesses to share the tax burden and we need working families to provide the things we need – quality healthcare, restaurants, law enforcement, and skilled labor. 

Higher quality school systems benefit everyone by raising your property value. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, there is a definite correlation between school expenditures and home values in a given neighborhood. For every dollar spent on public schools in a community, home values increased $20.

Higher education attainment in a community results in lower crime.  A Brookings Institution Report found that “dropouts are incarcerated at rates twice those of high school graduates, leading to much greater public spending on policing, the court system, and the prison system.“*

The school board adopts courses of study pursuant to state law that meets rules set forth by the State Board of Education. Instructional materials in Charlotte County Public Schools meet Florida standards which can be accessed at www.cpalms.org. Critical Race Theory has never been taught in Charlotte County Public Schools.

In the 2021-22 school year, Charlotte County Public Schools will receive $0 from the Florida lottery for school recognition. In previous years, the state legislature has appropriated as much as $500,000. The General Fund operating budget for 2021-22 is $198,767,224.

Every school district was subject to the same achievement measures (assessments, graduation rate etc.) as years’ past.  The results are sorted by total points and were available for every District.  In 2021, individual schools were allowed to opt-out of receiving a GRADE based on those results.  Most school districts chose to opt-out, i.e. not to receive a grade.  Charlotte County Public Schools chose to receive a grade. 

ABSOLUTELY!!  Since the 2018 Vote for Yes! ….

• 80% of our schools have increased or maintained their school grade!
• 70% of schools are graded “A” or “B”!
• The total # of “A” and “B” schools have INCREASED each year!
• The total # of “C” schools in the district has REDUCED from 40 to 30%!
• Grade 3 students have OUTPERFORMED the state average in reading!
• The graduation rate has INCREASED to 91%, the highest in district history!
• The % of students graduating COLLEGE & CAREER READY has INCREASED 16%!
• In just one school year, AP scores have INCREASED 10%!
• Cambridge International awarded the district “District of the Year Award” for INCREASING access while sustaining or improving performance on AICE exams!