Key takeaways
- Voters overwhelmingly passed funding referenda, elected pro-education school board candidates and rejected Amendment 1 during this general election.
- Across party lines and demographics, voters supported public education and students.
- FEA remains focused on moving average teacher salaries to the top 10 instead of their current #50 rank and closing the critical teacher and education staff professional shortages that impact students.
- Additional Resources
- Want to get info on the issues that matter to you? Text edactivist to 22394
- Voting is just one way to get involved. What are the policies we are fighting for at the state level? Find our legislative priorities here.
- For a full list of primary and general election endorsements, visit our elections page.
Florida voters today showed their support for public education by passing local funding referenda, electing pro-public education school board candidates, and pushing back against efforts to bring more politics into the classroom by rejecting Amendment 1.
“Tonight’s results show that when public education is on the ballot, voters will support students, teachers, and our education staff professionals,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association. “Students feel the consequences when politicians refuse to fully fund their public school, insist on siphoning dollars away from public education to be used by corporate-run schools, and close neighborhood public schools. Parents are tired of politicians pouring their political agendas and biases into the classrooms of their children and making a spectacle of school board meetings for the sake of political clout. Teachers and education staff professionals should not have to work two or three jobs just to pay their bills and support their families because their Governor insists on passing laws that are anti-worker, anti-teacher and anti-public schools. Governor DeSantis has bragged about the budget surplus in Florida more times than we can count and yet, our teachers are ranked #50 in the nation in average teacher pay and our education staff professionals are not paid enough to live where they work. Today’s referenda results show that when we work together, we can win!”
FEA and its locals also successfully stood against Amendment 1, which would have made school board elections partisan.
“By rejecting Amendment 1, voters sent a clear message to politicians who want to infuse politics into our classrooms- students should always be our number one focus,” said Spar.
FEA makes candidate endorsements through a thorough process that includes research, local input, and democratic decision-making. This process ensures that our endorsements are based on education issues and a commitment to our neighborhood public schools, colleges, universities, students, and the people who work in public education.
Here is where the election results stand as of November 5, 2024:
FEA’s local unions championed local school funding referenda wins in the form of millage and sales taxes in the following areas:
- Alachua: Renewal, Millage for school operations (passed with 76.04%)
- Collier: New, Tax-Neutral (passed with 84.7%)
- Escambia: Renewal, Half cent sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 68.79%)
- Franklin: New, Millage for school operations (passed with 66.93%)
- Gulf: Renewal, Millage for school operations (passed with 80.45%)
- Hernando: Renewal, Millage for school operations (passed with 65.20%) and Renewal, Half cent sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 61.46%)
- Hillsborough: New, Millage for school operations (passed with 66.55%)
- Indian River: Renewal, Millage for school operations (passed with 74.67%)
- Jackson: Renewal, half penny sales tax for school infrastructure and technology (passed with 58.54%)
- Manatee: Renewal, Millage for school operations (passed with 82.55%)
- Marion: New, Half penny sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 59.42%)
- Monroe: Renewal, Millage for school operations (passed with 81.83%) and a half cent sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 71.41%)
- Orange: Renewal, Half penny sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 71.67%)
- Palm Beach: New, Half penny sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 60.29%)
- Pinellas: New, Millage increase from half mill to one mill for school operations (passed with 67.63%)
- Sarasota: Renewal, Millage for operations (passed with 84.04%)
- Seminole: Renewal, Penny sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 73.37%)
- St. Johns: Renewal, Half penny sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 60.28%) and New, Millage for school operations (passed with 67.80%)
- St. Lucie: Renewal, Half penny sales tax for school infrastructure (passed with 67.18%)
The following FEA and local union school board endorsed candidates* won their general election seats:
- Brevard: Matt Susin (District 4)
- Hillsborough: Lynn Gray (District 7)
- Manatee: Heather Felton (District 1), Charles Kennedy (District 3)
- Miami-Dade: Joe Geller (District 3)
- Orange: Anne Douglas (District 4)
- Palm Beach: Matthew Jay Lane (District 1)
- Pinellas: Katie Blaxberg (District 5)
FEA is proud to stand with these dedicated individuals supporting public education. Out of the FEA’s total endorsement of primary and general election school board candidates, 42 of 61 have won their elections. For reference, you can find all primary and general election endorsements at feaweb.org/elections.
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CONTACT: FEA Press, feapress@floridaea.org, (850) 201-3223
The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with 120,000 members. FEA represents PreK-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational staff professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.
