Florida voters' overwhelming approval last week of a constitutional amendment slashing their property taxes--and potentially costing schools millions of dollars in funding--illustrates the vexing trade-offs policymakers nationwide face in trying to reduce one of the most unpopular of all taxes. While lower tax bills may make homeowners happy, they…

Relates the experience of Pinellas County, Florida, in achieving a voter-approved property tax increase on behalf of St. Petersburg Junior College, focusing on the use of volunteers and on older person's votes. (MB)

Describes the development of Proposition One, which threatened to drastically cut education and social services in Florida by reducing the State and local governments' purchasing power to below 1980 levels. Assesses the potential for resurgence of the legislation, following its removal from the ballot by the State Supreme Court. (GC)

Florida voters have authorized two constitutionally guaranteed sources of revenue to fund the capital outlay needs of the state system of public education. These sources are motor vehicle license fees and gross receipts taxes. (Author)

Florida's state university system recently invested over $76 million in its education colleges. A national accrediting process based on peer review would help determine the existence of high-quality programs. NCATE (the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education), the Florida Department of Education, and the board of regents are…

Explores voting behavior of African Americans and whites in local school and tax referenda to determine whether racial conflict is still a primal factor in noncandidate elections. Results for voters in 5 counties in Florida (over 1,699,000 voters) reveal African-American underregistration and the continuing importance of racial cleavage. (SLD)