Miami-Dade teachers could lose a pay supplement unless voters renew a property tax in November. For middle school language arts teacher Osmarie Fortich, a failed referendum would mean a $16,000 cut from her $72,500 salary this year.
Voters first approved the tax in 2018 and renewed it in 2022. It charges property owners $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value and raises more than half a billion dollars for county public schools, according to district estimates. Most of that money supplements teacher pay.
Fortich has taught in the district for 21 years. She bought her first home in Clewiston two years ago and now travels about 180 miles round-trip to teach in Hialeah. She said a home in Miami-Dade was beyond her budget; losing the supplement could put even her Clewiston home out of reach.
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