Former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he supports an increase of property tax to raise funding for Seminole County schools.

With a new job at The Citizens for the Preservation of Property Values, Van Gundy and the Say Yes to Schools campaign aim to give a school board the authority to increase property tax for four years.

The political group says such a tax increase would benefit teachers and other school jobs as well as athletic programs and paying for repairs at county schools.

The maximum tax increase would be in addition to regular school property taxes, and would add one dollar per $1,000 of taxable property value. This would cost the average home owner about $130 each year.

“I’m passionate about public schools,” Van Gundy says, “Here I have 3 kids…2 still in public schools.”

Seminole County voters will be asked in November to give the school board this authority to initiate the increase. Van Gundy and The Citizens For the Preservation of Property Values say if passed by voters, the increase will raise $25 million every year for four years beginning in the 2013-14 school year.