The Florida Senate

1011.71  District school tax.--

(1)  If the district school tax is not provided in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill implementing the General Appropriations Act, each district school board desiring to participate in the state allocation of funds for current operation as prescribed by s. 1011.62(9) shall levy on the taxable value for school purposes of the district, exclusive of millage voted under the provisions of s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State Constitution, a millage rate not to exceed the amount certified by the commissioner as the minimum millage rate necessary to provide the district required local effort for the current year, pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1. In addition to the required local effort millage levy, each district school board may levy a nonvoted current operating discretionary millage. The Legislature shall prescribe annually in the appropriations act the maximum amount of millage a district may levy. The millage rate prescribed shall exceed zero mills but shall not exceed the lesser of 1.6 mills or 25 percent of the millage which is required pursuant to s. 1011.62(4), exclusive of millage levied pursuant to subsection (2).

¹(2)  In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 2 mills against the taxable value for school purposes to fund:

(a)  New construction and remodeling projects, as set forth in s. 1013.64(3)(b) and (6)(b) and included in the district's educational plant survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, without regard to prioritization, sites and site improvement or expansion to new sites, existing sites, auxiliary facilities, athletic facilities, or ancillary facilities.

(b)  Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing school plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies pursuant to s. 1013.15(2).

(c)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school buses; drivers' education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and equipment.

(d)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and replacement equipment.

(e)  Payments for educational facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district school board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage levied by a district school board pursuant to this subsection.

(f)  Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 1011.15

(g)  Payment of costs directly related to complying with state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and regulations governing school facilities.

(h)  Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational facilities, of renting or leasing educational facilities and sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or leasing buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to s. 1013.15(4).

²(i)  For the 2003-2004 fiscal year only, the payment of the cost of school buses when a school district contracts with a private entity to provide student transportation services if the district meets the requirements of this paragraph. This paragraph expires July 1, 2004.

1.  The district's contract must require that the private entity purchase, own, operate, and maintain one or more school buses of a specific type and size that meet the requirements of s. 1006.25

2.  Each such school bus shall be used for the daily transportation of public school students in the manner required by the school district.

3.  Payment for each such school bus shall not exceed 10 percent of the purchase price of the state pool bid.

4.  The proposed expenditure of the funds for this purpose must have been included in the district school board's notice of proposed tax for school capital outlay as provided in s. 200.065(9).

Violations of these expenditure provisions shall result in an equal dollar reduction in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds for the violating district in the fiscal year following the audit citation.

(3)  These taxes shall be certified, assessed, and collected as prescribed in s. 1011.04 and shall be expended as provided by law.

(4)  Nothing in s. 1011.62(4)(a)1. shall in any way be construed to increase the maximum school millage levies as provided for in subsection (1).

(5)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that, by July 1, 2003, revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection (2) should be used only for the costs of construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair of the educational plant; for the purchase, lease, or lease-purchase of equipment, educational plants, and construction materials directly related to the delivery of student instruction; for the rental or lease of existing buildings, or space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as educational facilities; for the opening day collection for the library media center of a new school; for the purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school buses; and for servicing of payments related to certificates of participation issued for any purpose prior to the effective date of this act. Costs associated with the lease-purchase of equipment, educational plants, and school buses may include the issuance of certificates of participation on or after the effective date of this act and the servicing of payments related to certificates so issued. For purposes of this section, "maintenance and repair" is defined in s. 1013.01

(b)  For purposes not delineated in paragraph (a) for which proceeds received from millage levied under subsection (2) may be legally expended, a district school board may spend no more than the following percentages of the amount the district spent for these purposes in fiscal year 1995-1996:

1.  In fiscal year 2000-2001, 40 percent.

2.  In fiscal year 2001-2002, 25 percent.

3.  In fiscal year 2002-2003, 10 percent.

(c)  Beginning July 1, 2003, revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection (2) must be used only for the purposes delineated in paragraph (a).

(d)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, if through its adopted educational facilities plan a district has clearly identified the need for an ancillary plant, has provided opportunity for public input as to the relative value of the ancillary plant versus an educational plant, and has obtained public approval, the district may use revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection (2) for the acquisition, construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, or repair of an ancillary plant.

A district that violates these expenditure restrictions shall have an equal dollar reduction in funds appropriated to the district under s. 1011.62 in the fiscal year following the audit citation. The expenditure restrictions do not apply to any school district that certifies to the Commissioner of Education that all of the district's instructional space needs for the next 5 years can be met from capital outlay sources that the district reasonably expects to receive during the next 5 years or from alternative scheduling or construction, leasing, rezoning, or technological methodologies that exhibit sound management.

(6)  In addition to the maximum millage levied under this section and the General Appropriations Act, a school district may levy, by local referendum or in a general election, additional millage for school operational purposes up to an amount that, when combined with nonvoted millage levied under this section, does not exceed the 10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Any such levy shall be for a maximum of 4 years and shall be counted as part of the 10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Millage elections conducted under the authority granted pursuant to this section are subject to s. 1011.73 Funds generated by such additional millage do not become a part of the calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program total potential funds in 2001-2002 or any subsequent year and must not be incorporated in the calculation of any hold-harmless or other component of the Florida Education Finance Program formula in any year. If an increase in required local effort, when added to existing millage levied under the 10-mill limit, would result in a combined millage in excess of the 10-mill limit, any millage levied pursuant to this subsection shall be considered to be required local effort to the extent that the district millage would otherwise exceed the 10-mill limit.

History.--s. 28, ch. 2002-296; s. 663, ch. 2002-387; ss. 17, 18, ch. 2003-399.

¹Note.--Section 18, ch. 2003-399, provides that "[t]he amendment of [subsection (2)] by this act shall expire on July 1, 2004, and the text of that [subsection] shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2003, except that any amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved and continued to operate to the extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions of such text which expire pursuant to the provisions of this act." Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (2), as amended by s. 18, ch. 2003-399, will read:

(2)  In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 2 mills against the taxable value for school purposes to fund:

(a)  New construction and remodeling projects, as set forth in s. 1013.64(3)(b) and (6)(b) and included in the district's educational plant survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, without regard to prioritization, sites and site improvement or expansion to new sites, existing sites, auxiliary facilities, athletic facilities, or ancillary facilities.

(b)  Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing school plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies pursuant to s. 1013.15(2).

(c)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school buses; drivers' education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and equipment.

(d)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and replacement equipment.

(e)  Payments for educational facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district school board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage levied by a district school board pursuant to this subsection.

(f)  Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 1011.15

(g)  Payment of costs directly related to complying with state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and regulations governing school facilities.

(h)  Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational facilities, of renting or leasing educational facilities and sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or leasing buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to s. 1013.15(4).


Violations of these expenditure provisions shall result in an equal dollar reduction in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds for the violating district in the fiscal year following the audit citation.

²Note.--Section 17, ch. 2003-399, added paragraph (2)(i) "[i]n order to implement Specific Appropriation 62 of the 2003-2004 General Appropriations Act."