Miami-Dade County voters renewed a property tax that keeps teacher salary supplements intact across the district, with unofficial election-night results showing 82% approval on Nov. 3.

The one-mill levy charges property owners $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value. District officials estimate the referendum could generate roughly $500 million a year for Miami-Dade Public Schools (M-DCPS), according to WLRN. The money funds teacher pay supplements and school security.

For Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay families, the result means educators at every local M-DCPS school will keep receiving supplemental pay that can reach $28,000 for veteran teachers.

The Miami Herald reported the measure was leading with more than 80% approval as of 8 p.m., after all early votes and most Election Day votes had been counted. WLRN reported 82% of votes in favor at the time of its publication.

What teachers stand to keep

Every M-DCPS educator receives a supplement through the levy. How much depends on experience. New educators get $3,000 on top of a $50,150 base salary, bringing their total to $53,150, the Herald reported. For teachers with 32 credited years, the supplement can reach $28,000, nearly 30% of their gross-annual pay.

Osmarie Fortich, a middle school language arts teacher, told the Herald the supplement accounts for $16,000 of her $72,500 annual salary. Even with the extra pay, Fortich cleans houses and tutors privately to make ends meet. Had the referendum failed, staying in the district "would not have been feasible," she said.

What homeowners pay

The median homeowner pays $188 a year on a $3,000 tax bill, according to a Herald analysis of Miami-Dade Property Appraiser data.

Of the revenue collected, 88% goes to teacher salaries and 12% goes to the district's police department, WLRN reported.

A recurring vote

Voters have considered the levy every four years since 2018, when the Miami-Dade County School Board first proposed it in response to sluggish state funding. Each time, voters have passed it by wide margins. Florida public school teachers are the second-worst paid in the nation, earning slightly more than their peers in Mississippi, according to the National Education Association (NEA), the Herald reported.

At a watch party at Miami Senior High School on election night, the district superintendent, United Teachers of Dade President Antonio White and school board member Luisa Santos celebrated the result, WLRN reported.

The levy was also renewed in Broward and Palm Beach counties on Nov. 3. The next renewal vote is expected in four years.