Parents and teachers' union urge voters to approve Clay County referendum to boost teacher pay and safety

Public comment and presentations at the April 2 Clay County School Board meeting centered on a board decision to move forward with revised referendum language that would renew local funding for school safety and allow competitive pay increases for faculty and staff.

Erin Frick, a parent representing Families for Strong Public Schools, thanked the board for adopting the resolution to place the referendum on the November ballot and urged the board to "move forward so the voters of Clay County can choose to invest in our teachers, our students, and our future." She said the referendum is needed so Clay can "compete for the best talent" with neighboring districts that already use referendum dollars for pay.

Miss Kidwell, speaking for the Clay County Education Association, thanked the board for the vote and said the revised language explicitly includes competitive pay alongside safety. She told the board Clay schools face "more than 80 job vacancies across nearly every area" and said Florida'level budget proposals risk making local staffing pressures worse. "If this revised referendum is approved by the community, it will help ensure Clay schools can remain an A-rated district by retaining and recruiting the best educators in Florida," she said.

Board members echoed the call to advocate to the community. Ms. Clark and Ms. Hanson urged residents to help explain that the measure is a renewal and not a new millage and emphasized the need for local advocacy because state funding increases are small (the superintendent noted an estimated 0.41% state funding increase and said inflation creates a roughly $15 million shortfall to keep pace).

No formal referendum ballot language text or final dollar amount was included in the meeting record; speakers referenced an independent oversight committee to review spending. The board has already taken steps to place the question on the ballot and stakeholders in the meeting said they will support outreach to voters.

Next steps: advocacy and community outreach ahead of the November election, and possible further board discussion or public information sessions to explain the referendum language and oversight provisions.