{"id":22809,"date":"2026-06-10T06:28:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T06:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/jacksonville-city-council-approves-sending-1-mill-renewal-decision-to-voters-following-finance-committee-delay-news4jax\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T06:28:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T06:28:48","slug":"jacksonville-city-council-approves-sending-1-mill-renewal-decision-to-voters-following-finance-committee-delay-news4jax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/jacksonville-city-council-approves-sending-1-mill-renewal-decision-to-voters-following-finance-committee-delay-news4jax\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville city council approves sending 1-mill renewal decision to voters following finance committee delay – News4JAX"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ariel Schiller<\/a><\/span>, News4JAX reporter, Jacksonville
Jud Hulon<\/a><\/span>, News4JAX photojournalist, Jacksonville
Published:\u00a0Ariel Schiller<\/a><\/span>, News4JAX reporter, Jacksonville
Jud Hulon<\/a><\/span>, News4JAX photojournalist, Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Voters will get to decide on extending Duval County Schools\u2019 1-mill referendum, also known as a property tax, this November after a delay from the city council finance committee caused public outcry last week.
The Jacksonville City Council voted 15 to 0 after discharging Ordinance 2026-0387 from the finance committee onto the floor during Tuesday\u2019s regular council meeting.
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Many council members spoke in favor of giving voters a chance to decide on extending the property tax.
News4JAX spoke with Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier following the vote.
\u201cOur teachers won a great victory tonight. I\u2019m really proud of the City Council, very thankful for their questions last week,\u201d he said. \u201cI think they gave us an opportunity to clear up the message and the work tonight puts it on the ballot in November and now the people get to make a decision.\u201d
The finance committee deferred the ordinance last week, which delayed the decision on whether voters would get to weigh in on extending the 1-mill property tax that first passed in 2022. The school board voted 6-1 in March to send the renewal to city council.
The measure needed council approval to appear on the November ballot.
Some council members previously pointed to the proposed statewide property tax cut from state lawmakers in Tallahassee as a reason for the delay. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan addressed the holdup at a news conference Thursday, saying she did not believe the council has grounds to stall.
\u201cThe role of the council, in what I\u2019ve been told, is to simply be in a ministerial and managerial role \u2014 just making that request happen,\u201d Deegan said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t think council has a role here beyond saying \u2018this is what you want, we\u2019ll put it on the ballot.\u2019 I don\u2019t really understand the debate.\u201d
Duval County Schools says the 1-mill tax will generate about $121 million a year and will fund teacher and employee pay, arts programs, and athletics. It is not a tax increase \u2014 it would maintain the current rate. For a home valued at $300,000, the tax amounts to about $300 a year.
John Meeks, a teacher and first vice president of Duval Teachers United, said the delay put educators\u2019 livelihoods in jeopardy.
\u201cI think the only result of these delays could be the endangerment of our teachers\u2019 well-being,\u201d Meeks said. \u201cThere\u2019s no increase. It\u2019s just a keeping of the status quo, which has allowed our school system to have the A grade that it has today. I don\u2019t think we can afford to go backwards.\u201d
Tiffany Clark, a parent and advocate with Parents Who Lead, said the holdup pulled focus away from what matters.
\u201cThis is getting tied up in a way that it shouldn\u2019t,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThis is only about teachers and that\u2019s it, and that is where the focus needs to be.\u201d
Dr. Bernier encouraged voters to research the 1-mill before heading to the ballot box.
\u201cI think our voters have to do their due diligence just like the City Council did. They have to dig into the issues, they have to understand how the money is being utilized and how aggressive we\u2019ve been of being good fiduciary and good stewards of this money and that will allow them to make an informed decision,\u201d he said.
Voters now have the final say on the renewal if the measure reaches the November ballot.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Ariel Schiller joined the News4Jax team as an evening reporter in September of 2023. She comes to Jacksonville from Tallahassee where she worked at ABC27 as a Weekend Anchor\/Reporter for 10 months.
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Jud has worked at News4JAX since August 2010, all on the night beat. Not only does he help bring stories to life as a photojournalist, but Jud also monitors public meetings, court progress and other critical goings on to ensure the public stays up to date and informed.
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