> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://insights.theackerhometeam.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Nassau County's One-Mill School Referendum: What's Changed Since 2022? - URL: https://insights.theackerhometeam.com/nassau-countys-one-mill-school-referendum-whats-changed-since-2022/ - Published: 2026-10-06T15:35:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-06T15:35:06.000Z - Description: Nassau County voters will decide whether to continue the School District's existing one-mill property tax in November. Here's what it has funded, how the tax base has changed since 2022, and what happens financially if the mill continues or expires. - Author: Ron Acker - Tags: Life in Nassau County, Nassau County, Property Taxes, Nassau County Schools --- Nassau County voters will see a school millage question on the November 3 ballot. Before getting into the numbers, there's an important distinction to understand: **This is a vote on whether to continue the existing voter-approved one mill—not whether to add another mill on top of it.** The ballot asks whether the Nassau County School District should continue levying up to one mill annually for additional employee compensation, fine arts and athletics, and safety and security. Voters approved the current mill in 2022 for four years. Four years later, we have something we didn't have then: **a track record.** We can look at what voters approved, what the money has funded, how Nassau County's taxable property base has changed and what continuing or allowing the mill to expire means financially today. ## What Did Nassau County Voters Approve in 2022? In November 2022, Nassau County voters approved an additional one mill for four years, with 53.35% voting Yes and 46.65% voting No. One mill equals **$1 in tax for every $1,000 of taxable value.** The referendum identified three broad purposes: - Additional compensation to attract and retain teachers and staff - Enhanced fine arts and athletic programs - Enhanced school safety and security The revenue was allocated among four areas: **70% — Employee compensation** **12% — Safety and security** **9% — Fine arts** **9% — Athletics** The current four-year authorization is now reaching its end, bringing the question back to Nassau County voters. ## A Personal Connection Property-tax discussions can move from numbers to opinions pretty quickly. For purposes of this article, I'm more interested in the numbers. As a homeowner and real estate professional in Nassau County, the question I wanted answered was pretty simple: **What happened after we approved it the first time?** In 2022, voters were evaluating what the District proposed to do. In 2026, we're deciding whether to continue something that now has a record. ## Acker Insight That record matters because more than the spending has changed. **The one-mill rate is the same. The Nassau County tax base it applies to is considerably larger.** That gives us two useful questions to examine: What did the existing mill fund? And what is the same one mill capable of generating today compared with when voters originally approved it? Neither answer tells anyone how to vote. Together, however, they provide a much clearer picture of what we're actually voting on. ## What Has the Existing One Mill Funded? The Nassau County School District established a Citizens Oversight Committee to review the use of referendum revenue. Its FY2024–25 annual report shows approximately **$17.75 million in actual referendum property-tax revenue** for that fiscal year. ### Employee Compensation The largest allocation is employee compensation. Approximately **$13.17 million in cash expenditures** went toward compensation during FY2024–25, including salaries and benefits. Compensation funded through the millage varies based on employee group, experience and contract length and is determined through the District's collective-bargaining process. ### Safety and Security Referendum funds have supported investments including the Centegix incident-response system, upgraded security cameras and environmental sensors, communications equipment and other safety improvements. ### Fine Arts Millage funding sustained **nine elementary art-teacher positions** during the 2024–25 school year, while also supporting art, music and theater equipment, supplies and program improvements throughout the District. ### Athletics The athletic allocation has supported athletic trainers, transportation, equipment, field maintenance and facility improvements. The District reports, for example, that millage funding contributes $100,000 toward athletic medical personnel and $30,000 toward medical supplies, supplemented by other District funding. One Mill proceeds have also contributed to larger facility projects, although some of those projects use a combination of millage and other capital funding. The Citizens Oversight Committee reported that it **did not identify material concerns related to the equitable or appropriate use of referendum funds** during FY2024–25. The committee is an oversight body, not a financial auditor, but its annual report provides residents with a detailed look at how the money has been used. ## What's Changed Since 2022? This may be the most important financial difference between the two votes. When Nassau County voters approved the referendum in 2022, the School District's taxable property base was approximately: **$14.29 billion** By 2025, the District's certified school taxable value had increased to approximately: **$20.21 billion** That's roughly a **41% increase in the school taxable base**. That does **not** mean every Nassau County homeowner's property value or tax bill increased 41%. The school tax base includes residential and commercial real estate, tangible personal property and other taxable property. Individual properties can also be affected differently by exemptions and assessment limitations. What the increase does mean is that substantially more taxable value now sits underneath the same one-mill rate. ## Growth Isn't Just Higher Property Values Part of that expanding tax base comes from something particularly relevant in a growing county: **net new taxable value.** The School District's official tax certifications identified approximately **$656.9 million in net new taxable value in 2024** and another **$585.3 million in 2025**. That's more than **$1.24 billion in net new taxable value in those two years alone.** The state's tax-certification calculation includes new construction, additions, certain major rehabilitative improvements, qualifying tangible personal property and other additions to the tax roll, net of deletions. That's an important distinction. Growth in the tax base isn't solely the result of rising values on properties that were already here. Nassau County is also adding taxable property. The approximately $585 million of net new taxable value identified in 2025 alone represents roughly **$585,000 of additional theoretical annual revenue capacity at one mill** before applying the District's collection assumption. As the taxable base expands, the same millage rate can generate more revenue. ## What Does That Mean for the One Mill? Here's the simplest comparison. Using the 2022 school taxable value of approximately $14.29 billion: **1 mill = approximately $14.29 million in theoretical annual revenue** Using the 2025 certified school taxable value of approximately $20.21 billion: **1 mill = approximately $20.21 million in theoretical annual revenue** That's approximately **$5.9 million more theoretical annual revenue capacity from the same one-mill rate.** The District does not budget on the assumption that 100% of that theoretical amount will be collected. For FY2025–26, its tax certification calculated **$19,401,736 in proceeds from the additional one mill using a 96% assumption.** So the rate hasn't increased. **The revenue-producing capacity of that rate has.** ## What Happens If the One Mill Is Renewed? Renewal would continue the existing voter-approved millage for another four years without increasing the one-mill rate. Using the latest certified tax base as a reference point, that one mill currently represents approximately **$19.4 million in annual budgeted proceeds under the District's 96% assumption.** That is a current reference point, not a forecast. Future collections would rise or fall as Nassau County's school taxable value changes. The dedicated revenue would continue to support the four areas identified by the referendum: employee compensation, safety and security, fine arts and athletics. For existing taxpayers, renewal does not add a second one mill. **It continues the one mill currently being levied.** ## What Happens If It Isn't Renewed? If voters don't approve the continuation, the additional voter-approved one mill expires. Using the current certified tax base simply to illustrate the difference: **With the additional one mill: approximately $19.4 million in budgeted annual proceeds** **Without the additional one mill: $0 from this particular voter-approved levy** That does not mean the Nassau County School District stops collecting property taxes. The District has other required and authorized property-tax millage and receives state, federal and other revenue. What disappears is this particular voter-approved revenue stream. That distinction matters because much of the One Mill supports recurring expenses. Seventy percent is allocated to employee compensation. The mill also supports recurring expenses associated with elementary art teachers, athletic trainers, safety systems, athletic maintenance and other programs. If the mill expires, those expenses don't necessarily disappear automatically. **Their dedicated funding source does.** The School Board would then determine whether to reduce those expenditures, replace some of the lost revenue with other available funds or re-prioritize spending elsewhere in its budget. Without an adopted contingency budget detailing those decisions, it wouldn't be accurate to predict exactly which positions or programs would change. ## What About Athletic Fields and Other Capital Projects? This is where the funding picture becomes more complicated. One Mill proceeds have contributed to athletic facility improvements across the District. The District's FY2024–25 oversight report documents an approximately **$725,000 track project at Yulee High School** and a roughly **$1.38 million artificial-turf project at West Nassau High School**. But the same report also explains that major athletic projects can involve **both millage and capital funding**. In fact, the District concluded that combining those funding sources is more sustainable than relying solely on millage revenue for major facility projects. That distinction matters when considering projects that may already be planned or underway. A project's construction date alone doesn't tell us whether it depends on future referendum collections. Money may already have been collected, committed or supplemented by another funding source. For that reason, it would not be accurate to assume that expiration of the One Mill automatically cancels a particular turf field, track, stadium or other planned project. Future capital decisions would depend on the funding already committed to each project and subsequent School Board budget decisions. ## What Does One Mill Mean for Your Property? There's another number that matters more to an individual property owner than Nassau County's $20 billion tax base: **Your property's school taxable value.** That's not necessarily the same as your property's current market value. Assessment limitations and exemptions can create significant differences between market value, assessed value and taxable value. The basic calculation is: **School Taxable Value ÷ 1,000 × 1 mill = Annual Tax** For example: **$200,000 school taxable value = $200/year** **$300,000 = $300/year** **$400,000 = $400/year** **$500,000 = $500/year** At $300,000 in school taxable value, that's approximately **$25 per month**. Property owners can find their school taxable value on their property-tax information or TRIM notice rather than trying to estimate the amount from a home's current market value. ## What Does the November Ballot Actually Ask? The official November 3, 2026 sample ballot identifies the measure as the **Nassau County School District Ad Valorem Millage Election**. It asks whether the District should: **“continue to levy an ad valorem operating millage of up to 1 mill annually”** for additional employee compensation, enhanced fine arts and athletics, and enhanced safety and security, in order to continue and sustain improvements in the quality of Nassau County's school system. Voters choose **Yes** or **No**. ## A Different Decision Than Four Years Ago The one-mill rate being considered in 2026 may be the same rate voters approved in 2022. The circumstances aren't. Nassau County's school taxable base has grown from approximately **$14.29 billion to $20.21 billion**. More than **$1.24 billion in net new taxable value** was identified in 2024 and 2025 alone. The same one mill therefore has considerably more revenue-producing capacity today. And unlike four years ago, residents now have several years of spending records showing how referendum revenue has been used. So the financial mechanics of the decision are relatively straightforward: **Renewal continues the one mill property owners currently pay and the dedicated revenue it generates.** **Expiration ends that additional mill and its dedicated revenue stream, leaving subsequent spending decisions to the School Board.** In 2022, voters were evaluating a proposal. **In 2026, voters can evaluate a record.** That record doesn't tell anyone which box to check. But it does allow us to answer questions we couldn't fully answer four years ago: **What does the one mill cost? What has it funded? How has the tax base changed? And what happens financially if the mill continues—or expires?** For me, that's the information worth understanding before heading to the polls.