Teachers union wants poll on tax

LARGO -- The Pinellas teachers union offered Tuesday to finance a poll that would gauge whether county voters support a property tax for teacher salary increases.

If the respondents seemed interested, the poll would be the first step in a campaign to get the tax on the ballot, possibly as soon as spring 2004.

School Board members, who want to raise Pinellas teacher salaries to the national average, agreed Tuesday to discuss the proposal in more detail at their April 15 meeting.

A tax of 50 cents on every $1,000 of assessed property value would generate an estimated $22-million a year, according to Jade Moore, executive director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association.

At the end of the four years, however, voters would have to renew the tax. At that point, Moore said, "you either pass it again or go backward."

Two School Board members expressed concern about the proposal at a board workshop Tuesday. Board member Mary Russell said she feared a referendum on teacher salaries could pit teachers against parents. Board member Nancy Bostock said a temporary tax was a risky way to fund raises.

But Moore and district administrators have floated such a tax as the only way in Florida's uncertain budget environment to increase teacher salaries. Moore said it would replace a property tax that was removed by Gov. Jeb Bush two years ago.

The average salary for a Pinellas teacher in the 2002-2003 school year is $39,000. The national average is $45,800, an amount that increases almost 3 percent each year. The teachers union has argued that raising salaries to the national average would keep Florida teachers from flocking to Georgia, Alabama and other states with better pay.

The salary issue came into focus last week when Pinellas teachers discovered that the new executive secretary for Superintendent Howard Hinesley will be hired at a salary of $44,324 and could earn up to $64,447. The minimum education requirement for the job is a high school diploma, although preference will be given to a candidate with two years of college.

In contrast, a Pinellas teacher with a doctorate would start at $35,100 and top out at $53,850 after 22 years.

Getting to the national average would require three years of 7 percent increases, Moore said. He said a poll conducted early last year by the state teachers union indicated that 78 percent of Pinellas voters would support a tax to raise teacher salaries. However, a more detailed poll is required, Moore said.

Moore and several School Board members noted that similar campaigns to put teacher raises to referendum have succeeded in places like Sarasota.

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