Alachua County voters have an opportunity to support our local public schools, teachers and children on the November 3 ballot through the renewal of the One Mill referendum.

First approved by voters in 2008, then again in 2012 and 2016, the One Mill helps fund the salaries of more than 300 teachers, including art/music/band/chorus teachers, school counselors, librarians, career tech academies, and magnet program teachers. It also guarantees a nurse in every school and is the district’s primary source of funding for school technology. That includes the 7000+ laptops and 1000 hotspots distributed to local students since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of COVID, Alachua County Public Schools may lose more than $16 million in funding this school year. The district has also spent millions of additional dollars on COVID-related expenses, including PPE and staff training. Because most of the district’s funding goes towards salaries, such significant budget cuts and extra expenses would certainly lead to job losses.

Superintendent Karen Clarke said the One Mill will help lessen the impact of those cuts.

“All the people and programs funded through the One Mill are critical to our success as a district,” said Clarke. “We don’t want our students to lose access to any of them because there isn’t enough funding.”

If approved, the One Mill is projected to raise about $17 million per year for the next four years. The ballot language specifies how the revenues can be spent, and requires that an independent citizens’ oversight committee continue to review all expenditures.

ACCPTA believes that all of the positions and programs funded by the One Mill are critical to providing a
high-quality education to all Alachua County children. We proudly endorse the One Mill campaign and
encourage all Alachua County voters to VOTE YES on November 3!

We are also asking you to spread the word. Tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers how the programs funded by the One Mill benefit all children and contribute to the wider community. Children attending our public schools now will be the future leaders of our community, and we all stand to benefit from their success. 

Read more about ACCPTA’s support for the One Mill: https://accpta.org/2020/09/18/accpta-supports-one-mill-for-alachua-county-schools/
Learn more about One Mill: https://yesforonemill.org/
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yesforonemill

Superintendent Karen Clarke

When Alachua County Public School staff stepped up during Hurricane Irma to shelter, feed and otherwise care for people fleeing the storm, I had never been so proud to be part of this wonderful school system. I have that same sense of pride as I look back over the last several months. 

Since the COVID pandemic first hit Alachua County, ACPS teachers, administrators, food service workers, bus drivers, custodians, and so many other employees have gone above and beyond to serve children and families in this community.

We are now a month into this crazy school year, and I continue to see people rising to the challenge, including employees, students and families. In the past few weeks I’ve visited both brick and mortar and online classes, and I’m so impressed at how hard everyone is working to, well, make it all work.

I’m also very grateful for the critical support that’s been provided by the Alachua County Health Department, our medical advisors from the University of Florida and so many other individuals and organizations, including the ACCPTA. We wouldn’t have made it this far without them.

Of course, we will continue to do what we can as a district to address the concerns of families, students and staff.  I recently met with your leadership team, along with members of my staff, to review the results of the recent ACCPTA survey. Their input and that of others who have reached out will help us as we adjust to this new way of educating our students.

I also appreciate the ACCPTA’s amazing support for the One Mill, which is up for renewal on this year’s ballot. ACPS and districts throughout the country are facing possibly the worst financial crisis in decades. The renewal of the One Mill will help us maintain people and programs we know are important to this community—music  and  the arts, counselors, librarians, career tech programs, academic  magnets and school nurses. It also funds almost all our educational technology, including the thousands of laptops and hotspots we’ve distributed to families this year. 

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to check out the website (yesforonemill.org) and Facebook page (@yesforonemill) that your ACCPTA vice president Megan Hendricks has put together to raise awareness about the One Mill. Most of all, I urge you to make sure your voice is heard by voting.

In the meantime, I want to thank you for your continued support of our schools, teachers and students.  By pulling together, we will make it through this crisis and be stronger for it.