Millage goes toward Brevard Public Schools employee compensation, student programs

Brevard Public Schools announced greater compensation for district employees Monday, following a November vote that increased the millage rate.

Eighty percent of the millage, which will last four years unless extended by Brevard voters, will be used for employee compensation, while 16% will go toward student programs, according to a press release from the district. The remaining 4% will be set aside for technology.

"We are thankful to the voters for continuing to invest in Brevard Public Schools because without them this would not be possible," said Superintendent Mark Rendell, who worked with the Brevard Federation of Teachers and the IUPAT/Local Union 1010 to finalize the millage payment schedule.

"We are focused on using these funds to help retain and attract top educators while also providing our students with increased access to programs."

A teacher with 10 years of experience will see an additional $3,651 in compensation this school year, according to the district. The full breakdown of millage compensation can be viewed at Brevard Public Schools' website.

The payments will be spread over 20 pay periods beginning with the Aug. 21 paycheck.

"The Brevard Federation of Teachers thanks the community for stepping up and ensuring this pay increase for teachers," said BFT President Anthony Colucci. "We are thrilled we will be able to address the compression issue that has been a district challenge for years. We are confident this will help with recruitment and retention of teachers in Brevard."

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The millage had been discussed at a July 27 board meeting, with a presentation that showed the millage rate has been dropping since 2012. However, the voted millage bumps it back up to a little above what it was in 2019.

This is the first time the millage overall will rise since at least 2012, according to the presentation.

Most of the millage rate is set by state law, but the school board must levy the required local effort — or RLE — millage rates in order to receive state funding.

The school board also discussed the district budget at the meeting, though a final public hearing must be held Sept. 7 before any final decisions are made.

The proposed budget — a total of $1,552,625,003 — shows $799,378,536 going to general operations in the district, $37,931,802 going to debt service, $398,009,318 to capital projects, $208,899,179 to special revenue, $102,476,351 to internal service and $5,929,817 to the enterprise fund.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or [email protected]. Twitter: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Millage provides increased compensation for Brevard Schools employees