Central Florida’s school districts stand to lose billions of dollars if the state goes through with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to eliminate property taxes, a new analysis has found.
DeSantis has said he wants to bring eliminating property taxes to the voters for the 2026 election, a proposition that some in local government have warned would virtually eliminate many crucial services — such as law enforcement, fire departments and local public schools. Others in the governor’s circle have floated eliminating property taxes only for homesteaded properties, where the property owner resides six or more months of the year.
While Florida cities and counties have loudly decried the potential revenue loss — and the DeSantis administration has responded by accusing local governments of wasting taxpayer money — far less attention has been paid to the impact on public schools.
Now, a new Florida Policy Institute study has concluded that school districts generated $21.4 billion in combined property tax revenue in 2024, about 36% of which was from homesteaded properties.
Teresa Jacobs, the chair of Orange’s school board, said that the loss of those funds could “cripple” school districts too, especially if the state has no plan to backfill them with sales tax or some other source.
“I don’t know how we can operate our schools with that great of lost operating expenses,” Jacobs said.
In Orange, $1.5 billion of the district’s $5.8 billion budget comes from property taxes. The vast majority of funds from property taxes go into a district’s general fund, which is what pays teaching staff, bus drivers and school maintenance staff along with other operational expenses.
If the district were to lose only the amount paid by homesteaded properties, that would amount to $419 million, the analysis found — still a huge drop.
FPI did similar calculations of the impact of property tax cuts on cities and counties, but in many cases those numbers have previously been publicized. The state’s House Select Committee on Property Taxes has met twice this month ahead of the upcoming Legislative session to hear from city and county officials about their concerns.
“While Floridians do need meaningful relief, the reality is that if approved, proposals to eliminate or severely cut property taxes would only make it harder to fund vital services families, seniors, and businesses rely on and need,” wrote Esteban Leonardo Santis, FPI’s director of research, in his report.
Jacobs said it’s hard to fathom that the Legislature would go through with pushing property tax cuts to the voters without a plan for local governments and school districts. But early polling indicates that two-thirds of Florida voters would vote “yes” on cutting or eliminating property taxes, according to polls from the Tallahassee-based James Madison Institute, a conservative think tank.
Many school districts, Orange included, are running much leaner budgets this year as private school vouchers skyrocket and enrollment declines. The state is also allocating less and less money to public school districts in the last several years, a “concerning” trend that could be made worse if voters eliminate property taxes, she said.
Other Central Florida counties are even more heavily dependent on property tax than Orange.
In 2024, Osceola County schools collected $321 million in property taxes while Lake County schools took in $287 million, and Seminole County schools gets about $310 million from property taxes. That was about half of all state and local funding for each county that year. The other half comes mostly from per-student funding provided by the state, as well as other state funds and grants.
Kristine Kraus, the chair of Seminole’s school board, said those funds are “not optional” in order to operate their schools. Echoing Jacobs, Kraus said the state would need to find a way to backfill the funds, or risk shutting down public schools.
“Seminole County would be unable to continue its operations, and that would put at risk not just our classrooms, but the very stability of our community,” she said.
Seminole has among the highest-rated public schools in the area, a fact that directly ties to higher home values. Eliminating property tax and knee-capping school districts could have a detrimental impact on not just education, but also those home values, Kraus said.
