The School District of Manatee County will receive all of the funds collected from a voter-approved property tax after county commissioners agreed Tuesday to reimburse local schools more than $2.5 million that had been withheld.
The decision came after a long-simmering controversy over who should pay the cost of collecting the voter-approved tax. For years, county commissioners absorbed those administrative fees. But beginning in 2024, some tax collectors, including Manatee County, argued school districts should pay instead — a change that diverted millions of dollars from public education.
Manatee County Commission Chairman Tal Siddique took up the issue after Suncoast Searchlight’s reporting that highlighted the dispute…