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Hernando Today

Local Education Funding Up By 45 Percent

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: June 5, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Inflation, the need to stay competitive and a shift in state funding can cost a bundle.
Property taxpayers in Hernando County have increased their per-pupil spending on education by 45 percent in the last four years.

During the 2003-04 school year, the Hernando County School District collected $51,487,388 to fund education for local students.

The same year, the district had 19,304 students by the state's weighted Full Time Equivalent (FTE) calculations, meaning that taxpayers paid approximately $2667.18 per student.

But four years later, during the 2007-08 year - a fiscal year that does not end until June 30 - the district collected $88,194,068, with an increased FTE student enrollment of 22,705.

That means this past school year, taxpayers paid approximately $3884.43 per student, a 45 percent increase of $1217.15 per weighted student.

Much of the increase has been due to inflation and rising prices of goods and services, as well as a significant shift in funding, as the state shifts more of the education funding burden to local districts, finance director Debbie Bruggink said.

"As those property values have gone up and collections have increased from property taxes, the state has not had to kick in as much money from the state side," she said.

Also, with double-digit increases in taxable value for Hernando County in recent years, more dollars would be generated even if there are reductions to the millage itself, Bruggink said.

Tuesday, she presented a preliminary proposed millage rate of 7.68 to the school board. That is less than last year's millage rate of 8.07.

Currently, the total property taxes collected go toward three different funds: 71 percent to the general fund, 25 percent to the capital projects fund and 4 percent to the debt service fund.

The funds collected in the general fund are used to supplement state funds to pay salaries and benefits for teachers and support staff, or about 80 percent of the budget.

Those costs have shot up since 2003, as the district has felt increasing pressure to remain competitive with higher salaries offered in surrounding districts.

In 2003-04, the average teacher salary was $34,818. With benefits such as health insurance, the average teacher cost to the district was $44,218.

In the current year, the average teacher salary is $41,362. With rising benefit costs, the average teacher now costs the district $54,600.

"We're trying to keep our salaries competitive," Bruggink said.

The funds collected in the general fund also partially fund the district's transportation costs - since the state does not fully fund local busing for students - and pay for instructional materials and supplies used in classrooms as well as utilities.

"Textbooks don't cost the same as they did the previous year," she said.

It also includes bills for telephone, electricity, water, garbage and postage - all of which have risen - as well as custodial and maintenance services for all of the district's facilities.

"We're anticipating $5 a gallon for diesel fuel," she said. "We've also increased our mileage reimbursement to 50.5 cents per mile, while it was 29 cents per mile for years."

The local capital improvement millage is used to purchase new or replacement school buses and equipment, as well as repair, maintenance and renovation of existing facilities and lease-purchase payments on certificates of participation.

There is also a property tax for debt service that Hernando taxpayers approved in the 1980s to fund general obligation bonds issued to construct new schools and ancillary facilities.

While figures show that the district had an ending fund balance of $197.5 million in 2006-07, most of that is due to $151 million in sales tax revenue bonds and certificates of participation, issued in 2005 and 2006.

"Even though they're counted as 'unreserved funds,' they can't be used for anything else," Bruggink said. "The majority of those dollars are sitting there in anticipation of a future contract being awarded, and are earmarked for construction projects."

That still leaves an unrestricted carry over fund balance of about $46.5 million.

The 2008-09 tax revenues are expected to bring in an estimated $84.9 million at 95 percent collections, which would be about $3.3 million less than the current fiscal year, with revenues expected to hit about $88.2 million.

Each year, the district estimates its collected budget at 95 percent, but typically does not collect more than 96.8 percent. This is primarily due to taxpayers who pay in November and get a 4 percent discount, Bruggink said.

The budget is expected to be tight, with officials having to roll back numbers to slightly more than the amount spent during the 2006-07 school year due to a worsening economic climate that Bruggink agreed is reaching "crisis levels."

"We're used to getting $17 million in new money, just in the operating fund, which allows us to hire more staff or give competitive pay raises," she said. "We won't have that this year, and as student enrollment goes down, money goes down."

This year, a property owner who owns a $200,000 house will pay about $1,343.48 in school taxes.

That information is expected to be presented and discussed at the next budget workshop on June 17, with final approval set for September.

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

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