Miami-Dade Superintendent Rafael Villalobos will hold a town hall at Miami Palmetto Senior High on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The event focuses on the Secure Our Future referendum renewal appearing on the Nov. 3 ballot.

A community resource fair starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by the town hall from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the school, located at 7431 SW 120th St. in Pinecrest. The Village of Pinecrest posted a reminder about the event on Monday, Oct. 5.

Referendum would extend property tax for four years

The ballot measure, listed as Referendum #268, asks voters to extend for four more years a property tax that funds teacher salary supplements, school safety personnel and mental health professionals across the district. The tax collects $100 for every $100,000 in assessed taxable property value, a rate voters approved in 2022, Axios Miami reported.

Voters first approved the property tax in 2018 at a rate of $75 per $100,000. The School Board unanimously voted in April to place the renewal on the November ballot.

The district's 2026–27 budget puts the referendum's financial impact at $569.5 million, according to Miami Herald reporting. About 88% would go toward instructional pay increases. The remaining 12% would fund security.

District officials said the money currently funds about $173 million a year in compensation supplements, more than 390 school safety personnel and more than 220 mental health professionals, WSVN reported.

"Can you imagine if we didn't have this supplemental pay to make our teachers competitive enough to stay in Miami-Dade County Public Schools?" Villalobos said at a Sept. 15 news conference urging support for the renewal.

District faces enrollment decline, budget pressure

The town hall comes as the district faces budget pressure. Miami-Dade County Public Schools' (M-DCPS) $7.4 billion budget for 2026–27 is more than 3% lower than the prior year, largely because traditional public schools started the year with 15,100 fewer students, the Herald reported.

School Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas called the district's financial state a "financial crisis" during the board's Sept. 9 budget vote.

Palmetto is eighth stop in countywide town hall series

The Palmetto event is the eighth of nine town halls the superintendent is hosting across the county. The final stop is South Dade Senior High on Thursday, Oct. 15. More information is available at SecureOurFuture.dadeschools.net.

Election Day is Nov. 3.