Now Alachua county voters will be asked to pay more taxes to help.

In a unanimous vote all five board members agreed to ask for a one millage point increase from homeowners that would go exclusively to school programs and to save jobs: including nurses, magnet programs, school bands and classroom technology.

But it will set home owners back on average $165 a year for four years.

"People in the community are upset about losing nurses that really wasn't in our budget, but the fact that medicaid has gone away we don't have anyway of making that up," said Ginger Childs, school board member and former high school principal.

The plan also includes an oversight committee of citizens to make sure whatever voters mandate will be carried out.

Stacey Samuel