Opinion
By Rich Lamken, 9-7-23
My local school tax, the portion over which the School Board has complete control, is up 49.2% while the state school tax, the portion mandated by the state, is only up 1.7% and the county tax is up 3.1%.
Are you wondering why your property taxes have gone up so much this year? That is a very fair question. Let me explain a little.
Home values have gone up in our county since the prior year, 2022, over 17%. This alone will cause an increase in your property taxes. Then, when that new assessed value is multiplied by the new tax rate, you’re adding insult to injury. So, what are our government agencies doing with this?
All the other taxing authorities in Nassau County, except the Nassau County School District, have recognized how difficult it is for our citizens to cope with the high inflation that America is suffering. As a result, they have rolled back or limited their tax rates to prevent your taxes from going up substantially. All the other taxing agencies in the County are showing restraint. The school board should be following their example, not being off on its own island.
But the Nassau County School District is exercising its ability to tax you at the highest possible level. This is real Greed in Government. They told you during the election that they needed $13.7 million, told you that it would be that amount EVERY year, and asked you to approve a 4-year referendum for 1 Mill tax increase to provide that $13.7 million. Then, appealing to our desire to support teachers, they also said most of the $13.7 million would go toward teacher compensation. This is simply not true. Teachers are only getting $5.7 million.
Because of the increased property values, when the final calculation was done, the actual amount of money they will receive from the 1 Mill is $16.9 million. They used the state’s rough estimate of Nassau County assessed property values from January, 2022, to project the result of the referendum despite knowing an accurate number would be available as of June 1, 2022, well before the election. They never mentioned that there would be two additional years of property value appreciation. They should have been more accurate but they did not want to show that the tax would bring in more than they were asking for. The bottom line is, that because of the increased assessed values your tax bill has gone up a minimum of 38% and as much as 80% for some properties, for the local school district tax.
The school district has the ability to limit it to the $13.7 million they asked for by modifying the Millage Rate. It is a simple process of completing a form and providing it to the Tax Assessors Office, after they approve it at their September 11th meeting. They have been notified multiple times that this is possible. They have been consistently stating that “They have no control of the millage rates presented to the Tax Assessor” but they absolutely do have complete control. They are refusing to do this and will instead tax you at the full amount and take more money from you than they promised during the last election.
This tax assessment will be approved by the School Board at their Board Budget Hearing on September 11th at 6:30pm at the District Office. If you are dissatisfied with a 38% + tax increase and want to stop the School Board from approving this, send emails and call the School Board members NOW and share your opinions and come to Board Meeting and speak out. If we don’t make ALL our voices heard, this will be approved and you will suffer a very substantial tax increase.
The School Board believes that only the three people who have addressed this issue with them at Board Budget Workshops care about this and take issue with it. We are dismissed as not being representative of the citizens and taxpayers of Nassau County. Please prove them wrong and call and email them, and then, attend the Budget hearing on the 11th, and speak out against this unwarranted tax increase. I encourage you to do all three, email and call the five School Board members and, also, attend the School Board meeting on September 11th. Nothing gets their attention like seeing and experiencing a Board room, filled with taxpayers anxious and willing to speak out and express their dissatisfaction.
The School Board contact info is below:
Shannon Hogue, District 1, [email protected] 904-556-1568
Gail Cook, Vice Chair, District 2, [email protected] 904 261-9127
Curtis Gaus, District 3, [email protected] 904-887-9071
Dr. Cynthia Grooms, Chair, District 4, [email protected] 904-845-8105
Lisa Braddock, District 5, [email protected] 904-507-9522
Strike a blow for honesty, transparency, and fiscal restraint.

Rich Lamken is retired and lives with his wife, Meg in Fernandina Beach. He is a retired Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Human Resources/Technology. He is the President of the Baptist Nassau Hospital Auxiliary.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.