Sarasota County backtracks after schools sue over withheld tax money

Just days after the Sarasota County School Board sued Tax Collector Mike Moran over millions of dollars withheld from a voter-approved school tax, county commissioners Tuesday voted to reverse course and resume covering the cost of collecting the tax.

The 3-2 vote marked a shift from a decision commissioners made in August to stop paying the fee for collecting the tax — a move that triggered the escalating dispute between the school district and Moran.

At issue is a 2% commission Moran’s office charges to collect the school district’s 1-mill property tax, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2024 to support public schools. For more than two decades — through multiple such tax referendums — Sarasota County paid that fee. But after taking office last year, Moran challenged the arrangement, and commissioners voted not to pay it. 

Moran has since withheld about $2 million from the school district to cover that fee, prompting the school board, and two county taxpayers, to file the lawsuit on April 24. They allege that Moran’s office is engaging in an “unlawful diversion” of taxpayer funds that were supposed to support local students.

The lawsuit — and the mounting financial impact on the school district — prompted some commissioners to reconsider their previous decision. 

Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight framed last year’s vote as a mistake that needed correcting. | Photo by Derek Gilliam, Suncoast Searchlight

On Tuesday, Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight framed last year’s vote as a mistake that needed correcting. Knight said when he voted to end paying the commission last year, he didn’t understand the implications.

“My main concern is that $2 million is impacting the school district,” he said.

Commissioners Mark Smith and Joe Neunder agreed.

“We should roll it back and pay the fee and make sure we are not burdening the school district,” Smith said. “It’s never too late to change a mistake.”

Commissioners Ron Cutsinger and Teresa Mast voted against the change.

Mast had spearheaded last year’s efforts to stop the county from covering the fee during an August budget workshop, arguing the school district, and not the county, should bear the cost.

“I’m not interested in continuing to pick up the tab, even if this means in this current budget,” she said last year. “This needs to be passed onto the school board and they can find the money.”

All five county commissioners at the budget workshop supported ending the arrangement.

On Tuesday, Mast said the ongoing dispute between Sarasota County Schools and the tax collector’s office was a legal gray area tied to an unresolved dispute. She recommended waiting on an opinion from the Florida attorney general.

Commissioner Teresa Mast had spearheaded last year’s efforts to stop the county from covering the fee during an August budget workshop, arguing the school district, and not the county, should bear the cost. | Photo by Derek Gilliam, Suncoast Searchlight

Moran told Suncoast Searchlight last week that the Manatee County Tax Collector had requested an attorney general opinion over a similar dispute involving Manatee County Schools. 

But Mandie Ferguson, communications director for the Manatee County Tax Collector, told Suncoast Searchlight this week that, while such a request has been drafted, it has not been submitted.

After approving the change, Knight also asked for a breakdown from the tax collector’s office of the actual cost of collecting the school tax, saying he does not believe adding the tax to the property bills creates significant additional expense.

“I would like to see the extra operating costs,” Knight said.

Moran did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

However, in previous emails to Suncoast Searchlight, Moran disputed the school district’s characterization of the withheld funds. He said his office plans to return “excess fees” to the district, which he said would reduce the total cost this year to about $800,000.

Daniel DeLeo, an attorney representing the Sarasota County School Board in the lawsuit, thanked the county commissioners who voted to cover the fee, calling them “great leaders and great public servants.”

However, DeLeo said the county’s decision does not resolve the lawsuit between the Sarasota County Schools and the tax collector because the county commission has no authority to make Moran return the more than $2 million in funds already withheld.

“The tax collector had no, none, zero legal basis to take those funds,” he said. “It is a clear violation of Florida law.”

Derek Gilliam is a watchdog/investigative reporter for Suncoast Searchlight. Email him at derek@suncoastsearchlight.org.