Dear Union County Voters:
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, things do not go as planned. We can devote significant time and energy to a worthy endeavor, only to discover that something was missed along the way. Unfortunately, I have been reminded of that lesson through our recent efforts to place the half-cent sales tax initiative on the ballot for our school district.
It is with deep disappointment that I share with you that the half-cent sales tax will not appear on the ballot for voters to consider during this election cycle.
Early in the process, we inadvertently overlooked a required step. A resolution containing the language necessary to levy the tax, the reasons for the levy, and the purposes for which the resulting revenue would be used was not submitted for approval. This resolution should have accompanied the ballot language approved by both the Union County School Board and the Board of County Commissioners at their meetings in January.
After the ballot language was approved in January, and not realizing this official resolution was required, I believed that the necessary steps to place the measure on the ballot had been completed. I and my team then turned our attention to the required audit and financial studies. All other requirements for the half-cent sales tax initiative were completed properly and within the prescribed timelines.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 30, I received a call from the Supervisor of Elections Office informing me that the measure was not on the ballot. Throughout that day and the following day, I had numerous conversations with the Supervisor of Elections Office, representatives of the Board of County Commissioners, and the Clerk of Courts. During that time, we believed there might be a pathway to have the measure included on a reprinted ballot, allowing voters to have an opportunity to decide the issue.
Unfortunately, late Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1, the Supervisor of Elections received a response from the Florida Division of Elections legal department regarding guidance requested earlier that morning. We were informed that, under Florida law, the ballots could not be reprinted to add the half-cent sales tax measure because ballots had already been mailed.
When something goes wrong, it can be tempting to look for someone else to blame. My parents taught me differently: when you make a mistake, you own it, learn from it, and do everything possible to ensure it does not happen again. While multiple people from different forms of local government took part in the process of trying to get the half-cent sales tax passed, I missed this important step as I attempted to shepherd this initiative through the process and onto the ballot. The criticisms that may come from this situation will be difficult to hear, but none will be harder on me than the disappointment I have in myself for allowing this to occur.
While we cannot change what happened this election cycle, we can learn from it and move forward. We intend to pursue the half-cent sales tax initiative again for the November 2028 general election. Now that we have clarity regarding the step that was missed, I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the process is handled correctly and thoroughly the next time.
I wrote this letter in the spirit of transparency and to help provide understanding of why you will not see the half-cent sales tax on this ballot. I hope that you will support our efforts to bring this initiative to the ballot in 2028, vote for it at that time, and provide the additional resources our school district needs. Thank you for your continued support, your patience, and your commitment to our students and schools.
Sincerely,
Mike Ripplinger
Superintendent of Schools for Union County
