County commissioners agree to cover schools’ expenses until the district’s lawsuit with the tax collector is resolved.
By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: May 20, 2026
Host: Sarasota County commissioners finalized a plan this week to pick up the bill for Sarasota Schools—with a hitch. The vote on Tuesday came after Tax Collector Mike Moran had to return more than $2 million he had withheld from Sarasota County Schools to process a voter-approved referendum for education. Derek Gilliam with Suncoast Searchlight reports.
Derek Gilliam: But commissioners only agreed to cover the annual expense until an ongoing lawsuit between the tax collector and the school district is resolved in court. After that, commissioners said they would revisit who exactly would cover the fee going forward based on the judge’s ruling.
Commissioner Teresa Mast said at the meeting: “I don’t want to see us pay something that is not something we should be paying. And I think that hopefully the courts will resolve this issue.”
For months, Moran’s office and the school district have sparred over a 2% commission to process the additional $1 million levy on property values that had been covered by the county for more than two decades. The voter-approved property tax raises millions of dollars annually to pay for teachers, support staff and equipment.
But after taking office last year, Moran challenged the longstanding arrangement, and county commissioners have flip-flopped over whether to pay it—first voting over summer not to continue covering the fee and then reversing course earlier this month.
Sarasota County School District’s central office. Photo via Suncoast Searchlight
The school district and two taxpayers sued Moran’s office over the issue in April—and county officials have since been stuck in the middle, with Commissioner Tom Knight framing the commission’s previous decision to stop paying as a mistake that needed correcting.
A draft of the proposed resolution included in the county’s agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting called for the county to pick up the fee charged to the school district through 2030 when the voter-approved tax sunsets.
But commissioners stopped short of going that far.
Superintendent Terry Connor said the decision was disappointing. He hoped the county would commit to covering the expense, rendering the litigation with Moran’s office moot and saving taxpayers money. Connor confirmed that Moran has already released the funds that were withheld to the school district for this year’s budget. But Moran’s office also filed a motion on Friday to dismiss the circuit court case, doubling down on his position that the money charged to the school district was legal.
Moran took Tuesday’s decision by county commissioners as a victory. He wrote in an email to Suncoast Searchlight, “The County Commission unanimously approved a resolution that confirms we were following the law.”
The issue of who pays the commission surfaced over the summer when the school district received notice in September that a fee would be charged to Sarasota County Schools, just weeks before the district’s budget was set to be finalized.
Connor said the loss for the school district created an unplanned deficit.
Connor said, “When you take all the factors that are squeezing school districts, it’s an unforced error by the tax collector. We are already facing a combination of factors relating to our budget.”
Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Sarasota County Tax Collector via Suncoast Searchlight
Meanwhile, Moran has accused the school district of wasting taxpayer funds by litigating.
He previously said the tax collector’s office in Manatee County—where a similar dispute is playing out—was seeking an attorney general opinion on the issue. Suncoast Searchlight has confirmed Manatee County’s tax collector drafted the request but never sent it.
Connor said the district had proposed waiting for that opinion if Moran would stop collecting the commission and refund the withheld school funds. Moran did not agree to do so, Connor told Suncoast Searchlight.
Daniel DeLeo, an attorney representing Sarasota County Schools, said the district will respond to the latest motion and continue fighting the issue in court. He blasted last week’s court filing by Moran’s office.
DeLeo wrote in a text message to Suncoast Searchlight, “Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address redefined American history in 272 words. This is a ridiculous 66-pages of fluff, irrelevancies, and smoke and mirrors. The lady doth protest too much, me thinks.”
This is Derek Gilliam with Suncoast Searchlight. To read the full story, visit suncoastsearchlight.org/sarasota-school-tax-fight-punt-by-county-commission-moran-connor.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.