School board set to approve 2010-11 budget

School board members are set to approve the $203.32 million budget for the district as officials also prepare for a slew of other budgetary woes expected to occur next year.

During a 6 p.m. public hearing set for Tuesday, Sept. 7, at the board office, residents will have the floor to give their final thoughts on the budget before board members make their final vote.

This year's budget remains balanced with a decrease of $5.29 million, or 2.5 percent less than the 2009-10 fiscal year. Officials are also keeping $7.52 million as an ending balance.

For taxpayers, the proposed levy would be 7.41 (a decrease of 0.06 mills from last year), meaning a homeowner with property valued at $125,000 (and a $25,000 tax exemption) would pay $741 to the school district.

That amount is a $6 decrease compared to the $747 a homeowner would pay with property valued the same as last year.

Superintendent Bryan Blavatt said he doesn't foresee any problems with having the budget approved - particularly after advertising a taxing decrease.

Despite district employees putting together a budget without the need for salary freezes or other budget cutting measures impacting personnel, he said next year could be a different matter.

According to staff reports, this year's oil spill is expected to hurt the state's economy, causing Florida to lose at least $2.2 billion in tourism dollars along with 39,000 jobs.

Those fears, along with the loss of more than $7.3 million in stimulus funds, could leave the district scrambling next year for more cost-saving measures.

"We were fortunate to have won the Race to the Top grant this year along with some others," Blavatt said. But basically the story is we're going to have to learn how to provide the same level of service with less funding. So we'll see."

Other aspects of the budget include:

• Per student funding allocation from the state increased by $17.74 from $6,585.96 last year to $6,603.70.

• The property tax roll for Hernando County decreased approximately $1.15 billion or 10.9 percent, lowering the tax roll to $9.38 billion. "This signals another trend reversal for the district, which reflects the stagnant housing market in Hernando County," according to staff reports. "Property values had grown steadily by double digit rates since 2004, but the current decline puts the county back to pre-2007 values."

• Of the $174.19 million General Fund budget, $160.74 million or 92.2 percent, is appropriated directly to schools for teaching and school programs including student transportation, media, counseling, psychological services, school administration and facilities. General administration, human resources, finance and other central services comprise makeup $5.88 million or 3.38 percent and the remaining $7.57 million or 4.35 percent of the budget is for fund balance and transfers.

In other business, board members are also expected to consider:

• A submitted application for a charter school entitled "Infusion School of the Arts." The Charter Review Committee found flaws with the application and recommended not approving it. Board members will discuss the matter and place it on the Sept. 21 agenda for a final vote. Board members will consider the matter during their 2 p.m. workshop.