Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/285258
During the March 2010 referendum, the turn- out was 27.18 percent of the 254,266 voters registered at that time. Four years earlier, the percentage was 24.78. During the 2002 ref- erendum, 35.4 percent of the 225,918 people registered to vote in the county supported the tax. Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta criticized the School Board last year for con- tinuing to hold the referendum in March, at an expense this time of approximately $400,000. While he said he supported the tax, he also voiced frustration that the School Board would not schedule the referendum on a November General Election ballot. This year, for example, he pointed out, the Florida governor's race is expected to draw far more voters than a March referendum. The 1-mill referendum was on the March 25 ballot with races for the Longboat Key Town Commission and the Holiday Park Board of Trustees, as well as a number of City of Venice initiatives. School Board members said it was too late to change the date for this referendum. State law requires approval of their budget each July, they have noted. If they had moved the referendum to November, they pointed out, they would have lost the approximately $42 million in tax revenue for one year. Superintendent Lori White (left) and Chairwoman Jane Goodwin listen to a speaker during a January School Board workshop. File photo Sarasota News Leader March 28, 2014 Page 60