Duval County teachers could lose an average $8,668 salary supplement if voters reject a one-mill property tax renewal on the Nov. 3 ballot. Early voting opened Tuesday, Oct. 20, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1.

The tax costs property owners $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value. Voters first approved it in 2022 to recruit and retain teachers during a national shortage. If renewed, the levy would take effect July 1, 2027, and expire June 30, 2030.

Since the millage passed, the district's teacher vacancy rate has dropped from 6.5% to 4.4%, according to Duval County Public Schools. The district has also earned back-to-back A grades from the Florida Department of Education and posted a 97.6% graduation rate, Superintendent Christopher Bernier said in an Aug. 24 statement.

About 88% of the tax's $121 million in projected revenue goes toward teacher and staff salaries, with roughly 12% supporting arts and athletics programs, The Florida Trib reported.

David Garfunkel of the Jacksonville Civic Council, which endorsed the renewal, pointed to the district's progress since the tax took effect.

"DCPS has cut teacher vacancies, it's kept more experienced teachers, and I think really importantly … it's earned back-to-back A grades as a school district for the last two years," Garfunkel told Action News Jax.

Jessica Reyst of Duval Teachers United said the extra pay has helped teachers cover expenses and warned that rejecting the renewal could push educators to neighboring districts that already have similar tax supplements. Florida ranks 50th nationally in teacher compensation, according to National Education Association (NEA) data.

Bernier has also urged voters not to confuse the school millage with Amendment 3, a separate statewide ballot measure that would cut property taxes across Florida. School districts are exempt from Amendment 3's proposed cuts. Bernier told The Florida Trib he had heard reports of voters being coached to vote no on both measures and stressed at a late-September community meeting that the two items are unrelated.

No organized opposition to the renewal appeared in published news coverage or public records as of publication. The claims that the tax has improved district outcomes come from district leaders and supporters; independent verification of a causal link between the millage and the district's A grades was not available.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Mandarin-area residents can vote early at the Mandarin Branch Library at 3330 Kori Road or the South Mandarin Branch Library at 12125 San Jose Blvd. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 23, then 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, and Monday, Oct. 26. Polls expand to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.