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Broward County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi Calls Out the Broward School Board for Misleading the Public

Broward County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi Calls Out the Broward School Board for Misleading the Public

May 27, 2026

The Broward County Tax Collector has always and will always support Broward County’s schools and teachers. Teachers remain the backbone of a strong and educated community, and we hold deep respect for the work they do for Broward’s students. It is deeply concerning that the School Board has positioned this issue in a way that creates unnecessary division. The Tax Collector’s Office operates on the principles of cooperation, transparency, and accuracy, principles that are absent from the School Board’s current stance. The Broward County Tax Collector remains ready and willing to engage in productive dialogue to resolve this matter for the benefit of Broward County’s residents who have entrusted them with the responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds.

The Broward County Tax Collector’s Office (BCTC) is calling out the Broward School Board’s inaccurate statements concerning statutory commissions that the Tax Collector is legally required to collect for services rendered. Despite clear evidence confirming the legality of these commissions, the School Board has threatened legal action, an unnecessary use of taxpayer resources given that the law and supporting documentation are clear.

“It is disingenuous for the Broward County School Board to attribute its financial management issues to the Tax Collector’s Office,” said Broward County Tax Collector Abbey Ajayi. The Office is not responsible for their budget shortfall, nor for their failure to follow their own published guidelines.

The Florida Department of Revenue has already reviewed the Broward County Tax Collector’s governing statutes at their request and agreed voted-millage commissions are the district’s responsibility absent a contrary agreement. The reality is, year-to-date, the Broward County Tax Collector has already disbursed $3.2 million in unplanned revenue interest to the School Board, offsetting the $5.5 million in dispute, on target to far exceed interest income from prior years. For reference, for 2024 and 2025 unplanned revenue interest distributions to the School Board exceeded $4.1 million each year. The School Board’s call for the return of legally required commissions has no factual connection to its reported budget shortfall, rendering the argument irrelevant.

Although the School Board claims it was unaware of the statutory commission requirement, that requirement has been established in Florida law since 1971 and has been applied in jurisdictions across the state. The School Board’s own reporting authority, the Florida Department of Education’s Finance and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools (“Red Book”), the basis for financial budgeting and reporting, explicitly defines how districts must account for commissions and
excess fees during the establishment of their budget

Key Information:

  • Year-to-date, the Broward County Tax Collector has collected more than $2.1 billion, $300 million more than the last fiscal year, on behalf of the School Board, for which the Tax Collector is entitled to collection costs for services rendered.
  • Under Florida Statute 218.36, all unspent revenues are distributed at the end of September to districts and municipalities, in the same proportion or manner commissions were paid. Another source of unplanned revenue, from the Tax Collector, to be disbursed back to the School Board.
  • If the School Board refuses to cover its fair share of legally mandated costs, it would force the more than 550 taxing districts and municipalities to absorb those expenses above their proportionate share, creating an undue burden.

Important Timeline:

  • In 2018, Broward County residents voted to make the Tax Collector an independent constitutional office under Amendment 10, and Abbey Ajayi was elected in November 2024 as Broward County’s first.
  • In February 2025, BCTC notified the School Board of the statutory commission, a revenue collection cost, which is a budgetary preparation requirement as stipulated in the School Board’s own “Red Book”. The notification from the Broward County Tax Collector was provided as a courtesy, not a requirement under the law.
  • However, in January 2026, the School Board claimed it was unaware of this notification.