TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

District To Mull Leaner Budget

ADVERTISEMENT

By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: July 26, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - One week after Hernando County officials submitted a significantly lower proposed budget for 2008-09, school district officials followed suit with their own budget that is 6.4 percent less than that of the current year.

With the first public budget hearing slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the school district's headquarters in Brooksville, school district officials have spent months working with a major revenue shortfall from the state.

"I have nothing to offer except 'yikes,'" Board Member John Sweeney said. "We're going to do the best we can. Our finance director is very concerned, cautious and conservative, but what we get from Tallahassee is something else."

The district's proposed millage rate is 7.78, which will generate $84.4 million in tax revenues at 95 percent collections. That is nearly 0.29 mills less than this current fiscal year's millage rate of 8.065.

Much of that is because the state has been shifting more and more of the funding burden to individual districts, finance director Deborah Bruggink said.

This year, a property owner who owns a $150,000 house with a $25,000 homestead exemption will pay $972. Last year, the same homeowner would have paid $1,008, or a $36 savings.

Excluding transfers, the district's 2008-09 tentative budget is $419.9 million, a decrease of nearly $29 million or 6.4 percent less than the current year's budget.

One of the biggest hits was felt by the district's capital fund, to which the state did not allocate any new funds for classrooms or new construction. This will impact any new construction projects, as well as local construction personnel, Superintendent Wayne Alexander said.

Revenues from the district's general fund - used for day-to-day expenses - decreased by $1.8 million. The majority of the decrease is from the Florida Education Finance Program, which is the state's funding program for public schools.

As part of a belt-tightening plan already in place, the district aims to save $2.14 million by cutting 54 teaching positions and 28 instructional aids, though no one will lose their jobs, Alexander said.

The positions include teachers allocated for the district's new gifted education center being moved to general education teaching positions, and numerous vacant positions remaining unfilled. Thirteen teachers with tenure are being switched to open positions at other schools.

"You'll see larger classrooms, but no one has lost their jobs," Alexander said.

He has also revamped his comprehensive reorganization plan, with several positions and programs placed on hold until money is there to fund them.

"We're just going to go about it in a slower, more methodical way," he said. "We may not be about to do all the things as quickly as I'd like to, but we all feel we want to jumpstart things and get them going in a positive direction."

Among the programs still on the table for next year are the district's high school career academies, dropout prevention program and gifted program at Explorer K-8 in Spring Hill.

At a June workshop, board members also mentioned three safety issues to protect: School resource officers, crossing guards and the district's YMCA swim program for local kindergarteners.

However, the district's income isn't final yet. In June, Hernando County School District officials received a letter from Florida's education commissioner warning districts to prepare for an expected additional 2 percent reduction in revenue from the state.

Locally, that translates to an estimated $3.3 million that the district will likely have to slice from its 2008-09 budget or the district's "rainy day fund," with additional cuts expected following a special state legislative session in November.

"At that point, we'll have to start looking at personnel, and it's possible that it will have an impact," Alexander said.

However, the first move would be to hold unfilled positions vacant, rather than putting employees out of work, Bruggink said.

Additional gas and diesel costs may come into play in November, as well. Currently, gas and diesel prices total $3.2 million, or about $1.4 million more than last year.

Alexander said the district has purchased two propane buses in an effort to maximize efficiency.

"We are looking at creativity. We're leaving no stone unturned, in terms of cost-effectiveness," he said.

But with additional cuts on the horizon, the future is largely unknown.

"The budget is a fluid document, and always subject to change," Alexander said.

The district's final budget hearing is set for September.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT