I’m sure no one needs any reminders that 2024 is an important year, one where we have the privilege of heading to the polls to make our voices heard. This election year we have many issues to ponder, and we at the Gainesville Chamber hope you will take advantage of the many resources available—from us and from many others—to ensure you are ready to exercise your right to vote this November.

I am providing one such resource here to speak out for the One Mill, which is up for renewal again this year. The One Mill has proved to be an outstanding use of our community’s dollars, with the funding supporting vital programming and personnel throughout our Alachua County Public Schools.

First approved by voters in 2008, this tax has been re-approved every four years since then, and with good reason. The One Mill supports school nurses, counselors, librarians, art, music and drama programs, career/technical programs, academic magnet programs and classroom technology.

The Academies of Entrepreneurship and Finance at Buchholz High School? The award-winning Institute of Culinary Arts at Eastside? The Terwilliger Dual Language Immersion Program? The Academy of Criminal Justice at Newberry High? The Academy of Automotive Technology at Loften? Our talented school bands and choruses? Our IB and Cambridge magnet programs? All these and so much more are supported by the One Mill.

The One Mill raises about $23 million annually, which helps fund the salaries of more than 350 local teachers and supports every one of our 27,000 students.

What actually is the One Mill? One Mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value of a property, so the One Mill initiative only affects property owners in our county.

It is important to remember that by voting for the One Mill in 2024, you are not voting for a new tax—this is the renewal for an additional four years. For the average homeowner, One Mill amounts to about $14 a month—a steal for the benefit provided to our schools and students. And the law requires oversight of these funds by an independent citizen’s committee, who are tasked with ensuring the dollars are spent as promised.

Your help is needed this year, leading up to voting day. Florida law now prohibits the school district from sending out informational flyers and pamphlets, so it is important that we spread the word about the One Mill and its value to our community. We all know how critical good schools are to the health of our region and to our ability to attract new employers and employees.

Our students are counting on us. We have passed the One Mill overwhelmingly each renewal year since 2008, and I am confident we will do so again in 2024—for the good of our community.

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of business columns sponsored by Pavlov Media.