Local legislator proposes measure that would allow tax collectors to waive school-tax fees, or require counties to cover them.
By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: May 27, 2026
Host: The ongoing fight between Sarasota County Schools and Tax Collector Mike Moran over millions in tax dollars is now drawing attention in Tallahassee. A local lawmaker is proposing a change that could clarify who pays the cost of collecting voter-approved school taxes. Suncoast Searchlight’s Derek Gilliam reports.
Derek Gilliam: State Rep. James Buchanan introduced a measure that would allow county tax collectors to waive the collection fee. If collectors choose to charge the fee, Buchanan’s bill would require counties to cover the cost.
Florida lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow county tax collectors to waive school-tax collection fees or require counties to cover the costs. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education via Suncoast Searchlight
The Sarasota Republican’s proposal was added to Florida’s tax package with approval from House Ways and Means Committee Chair Wyman Duggan. It comes as similar disputes are surfacing in other Florida districts.
Broward County Schools last week authorized legal action over $5.5 million dollars withheld by its tax collector, while Manatee County Schools said it had lost about $2.5 million to collection fees but since got nearly half back.
In Sarasota, the school district sued Moran in April after his office began withholding a 2% commission tied to the district’s voter-approved $1 million property tax referendum—a levy that’s equal to $1 taxes per $1,000 of taxable property value. It raises millions of dollars annually to pay for teachers, support staff and school operations.
State Rep. James Buchanan, R-Osprey, proposed legislation aimed at clarifying who pays the cost of collecting voter-approved school taxes. Photo courtesy of James Buchanan’s office via Suncoast Searchlight
For more than two decades—and through multiple such referendums—Sarasota County has covered the collection cost. But after Moran took office in January 2025, he urged the county commissioners to shift the expense onto the school district. Moran argued state law required the change despite little precedent elsewhere for charging the school district directly.
Buchanan told Suncoast Searchlight he began working on the proposal after following the nonprofit newsroom’s coverage of the Sarasota dispute and hearing concerns from constituents frustrated that voter-approved school tax dollars were being diverted from classrooms. He also said his concerns grew as similar conflicts emerged in other Florida districts.
Buchanan said in a statement: “When voters approved this referendum (in Sarasota), they did so with a clear expectation: that the money would support our students, strengthen our schools and keep our children safe, not get lost in bureaucracy.”
Buchanan said the special session allowed him to address the situation. He hopes his measure will end any confusion behind the Legislature’s intent relating to tax collection fees charged to school districts. His proposal became public shortly after noon on Tuesday as part of HB 7031E, otherwise known as the tax package.
Last summer, Sarasota County commissioners agreed to shift collection costs from the county onto the school district.
But after the school board and two county taxpayers sued Moran and his office this spring, the commissioners reversed course and agreed once again to cover the fees while the litigation played out.
Even then, Moran said his office would continue collecting commissions and handling excess funds according to his interpretation of state law, until it received “a formal agreement and clear direction from both parties.”
That agreement came last week, but the underlying legal dispute remains unresolved.
Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Sarasota County Tax Collector via Suncoast Searchlight
If approved, the legislative measure could effectively resolve the central dispute in the school board’s lawsuit by clarifying in state law that schools should not bear the collection costs—as Moran had argued.
Moran said if the measure becomes law, he would waive the fee.
Moran said in a statement: “By changing the law, the Legislature has validated our legal position under the old statute and now given us the authority to waive these fees directly in support of our kids.”
Daniel DeLeo, an attorney representing Sarasota County Schools, called the legislative proposal “a repudiation” of Moran’s interpretation of state law.
The proposal has drawn concern from the Florida Tax Collectors Association, however.
In an email obtained by Suncoast Searchlight, the association’s general counsel and lobbyist, Timothy Qualls, warned Tuesday that allowing tax collectors to waive the fees would turn a mandatory statutory entitlement into a discretionary decision that could create recurring political pressure.
Holly Bullard, of the Florida Policy Institute | Courtesy of Florida Policy Institute via Suncoast Searchlight
Holly Bullard, a Sarasota parent who is also the chief strategy and development officer for Florida Policy Institute, celebrated Buchanan’s proposed legislative fix.
Bullard said: “This clarifying language is a win for not only Sarasota County Schools, students and teachers, but every student and public school across Florida who were at risk of losing out on funding. It is a testament to leadership at the Sarasota school district, and honestly, our community coming together to ensure no tax collector does what ours attempted to do.”
Buchanan said in an interview with Suncoast Searchlight the tax package “runs in tandem” with the budget and that the school tax fix will be voted on then.
Buchanan is running for state Senate to succeed outgoing state Sen. Joe Gruters. He said the tax package will be open to public discussion as soon as this week when legislators put the budget up for a vote.
He said, “It’s not the perfect fix, but it’s addressing the issue the best we can in a tax package.”
I am Derek Gilliam with Suncoast Searchlight. To read the full story, visit suncoastsearchlight.org/sarasota-school-tax-fight-reaches-tallahassee-as-lawmakers-propose-fix.
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