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THOMAS C. TOBINThe public doesn't have enough information on the measure, the group's chairman says.
A Tarpon Springs lawyer and his partner have started a political action committee to oppose the referendum that would increase property taxes for teacher raises and other improvements in Pinellas schools.
Francis M. King, chairman of Citizens for Accountability in Schools and Education, said he is raising money for a last-minute appeal to absentee voters but is "basically running out of time."
The referendum asks voters whether they want to raise property taxes by 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable value for four years. The tax would generate more than $26-million a year.
Eighty percent of the money would be used to bring teacher salaries closer to the national average of $49,000. The Pinellas average is about $41,000. The remaining 20 percent would be used for reading, music and art classes and to buy more textbooks and computer equipment.
The School Board contends the Legislature has not allotted enough money in recent years to cover inflation, soaring health costs and new state requirements.
King mailed a fund-raising appeal earlier this month that calls the measure "bad policy." In an interview, he said teachers should be paid more but argued that the language of the ballot measure is not explicit enough on the amount of the tax or how it would be used. He also said the school district has not given the public enough information about the measure.
"Before you ask voters for money, you should make sure you've told them why you want that money," he said.
King, 28, said he considers himself well-informed but did not know about the measure until a friend mentioned it recently.
He said he had not seen the school district's detailed explanation of its financial situation and how the new money would be spent. He said he had not contacted the district for more information and had not seen the Web site of a citizens group supporting the measure. He said he had read some articles about it in the St. Petersburg Times ' online edition.
Nancy Bostock, the only School Board member opposing the measure, said King makes "some very good points." She said King's situation is "a symptom" of how the board approached the measure, wavering on when to place it on the ballot before finally deciding in late July.
Bostock contends the district is not in a budget crisis and should have conducted a comprehensive financial review before asking voters for money.
King said he and his law partner, Anthony V. Dennison, are the only members of the committee.
"I'm not sure where he's been," School Board member Jane Gallucci said. The measure has been in the news for months, plus numerous presentations have been given at political and civic forums and to PTAs, she said.
As with the constitutional amendments on next week's ballot, Gallucci said, "I think there is a responsibility on the part of the voters to get informed." Many taxpayers have called School Board members with questions, she said.
Beth Rawlins, a public school parent and a political consultant who is leading the pro-tax campaign, said most of the forums have been before chamber groups and PTAs but that the word is out.
"We have made an attempt to communicate with as many voters of Pinellas County as we possibly can," she said.