The 2024 General Election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5 and includes two voting items directly related to education: Amendment 1 and the School District Referendum. Below is a summary of those two items and important upcoming dates.
★ Amendment 1 ★
Voters will be asked to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on six proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. The first amendment listed on the ballot would require members of a district school board to be elected in a partisan election rather than a nonpartisan election. The change would go into effect in 2026. Currently, school board races are nonpartisan and registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, are eligible to vote for candidates.
★ School District Referendum ★
The last item on page 2 of the general election ballot will greatly impact how schools are funded for the next four years. Voters will be asked to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on whether to continue tax-neutral flexible funding for Collier County Public Schools. A public vote is required through a referendum to provide our local school board with the flexibility to continue to shift up to $60 million per year from the capital budget to the operating budget for the next four years. This is timely because the current referendum expires in June of 2025. The tax-neutral referendum will not add any additional costs to taxpayers.
The referendum has historically passed by wide margins since first appearing on Collier ballots in 2008, and it has been used to recruit, support, and retain the high-quality staff who make CCPS a high-performing school district. Visit www.collierschools.com/referendum for additional information on this topic.
★ Upcoming Dates ★
There are three ways to vote in the upcoming election:
- by mail
- by voting early
- by voting on election day.
Early voting will take place Oct. 21 through Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 11 sites across Collier County. Election Day is Nov. 5 and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election Day is the last opportunity to cast a ballot, and voters must vote in their assigned precinct on that day.
This communication continues a tradition of Collier County Public Schools partnering with the Collier County Supervisor of Elections to engage with and provide information to the community. For more information, visit www.CollierVotes.gov or contact the Supervisor of Elections office at 239-252-VOTE (8683). Education is an issue that touches every corner of our community, and our students, staff, and schools are definitely on the November ballot in more ways than one.
Chad Oliver, CCPS Chief Communication Officer