Teachers Worry “Lack of Confidence” Threatens Pinellas Tax

Pinellas County teachers are worried about next year’s vote to renew a $30 million tax increase for salaries, arts, music and technology.

“I’m very concerned,” union president Kim Black told the St. Petersburg Times editorial board.

Black noted the anti-tax mood, then added: “When all of this turmoil is happening — whether it’s the budget, negotiations (between the district and the union), the issues with the superintendent — all of those things create a lack of confidence, I believe, in the public school system.”