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Hernando Today

School District Faces $3 Million In Cuts

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By TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: January 13, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando school district will be crunching more numbers to balance this year's budget in the coming weeks.

The school district faces additional cuts of $3.045 million from its operating budget if state lawmakers approve a plan up for a vote Wednesday to reduce K-12 funding by $480 million.

Finance director Deborah Bruggink on Monday was already looking for ways to make up the difference with the goal to avoid reducing personnel.

Nearly half of Hernando's share could be found by changing how the district pays for property and casualty insurance, Bruggink said. The state may allow districts to pay for the insurance out of the district's capital fund. That's about $1.45 million for 2008-09, Bruggink said.

"That's a big help," she said.

Officials also are hoping for some flexibility in the state's requirements to purchase textbooks. Districts are required to keep up to date on textbooks, but may be able to spread the purchases over two years, Bruggink said.

And she said some of the money will likely be found in savings on gasoline and diesel fuel costs since prices have dropped dramatically in recent weeks.

The cuts come on top of a reduction of $3.2 million after full time student enrollment fell short of projections. The district has had some success in what officials are calling "austerity" efforts to save money, Bruggink said.

Preserving jobs in the face of cuts are a top priority, Superintendent Wayne Alexander said Monday.

"We continue to do everything we can to move forward and try to make sure people don't lose jobs," Alexander said.

School board member Pat Fagan agreed, acknowledging that the district is already operating on a lean budget.

"We'll just have to get leaner," Fagan said. "If there are things we have to do less of that's not going to affect our kids and people, we have to do it. They make us what we are, and we can't forget that."

PHCC to dip into reserves

Pasco-Hernando Community College would lose just more than $802,000 under the plan.

The college planned for the reductions, which are being offset to some degree by rising enrollment numbers, said Lucy Miller, director of marketing and public relations.

"We don't feel the budget cuts should be disruptive to the college's day-to-day operation," Miller said. "The students should not feel an impact this year."

Make no mistake about the loss to the college's roughly $31 million budget this year, though, Miller said: "It's still painful."

Miller and school district officials agreed that next year's budgets may be more worrisome as lawmakers continue to cut and don't have much reserves or trust funds to tap.

"The rainy days are definitely here," Miller said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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