 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Many join call to not cut funds
By MICHAEL SANDLER, Times Staff Writer
Amber Bowden dropped out of three high schools before she found hope at the PACE Center For Girls in Pinellas Park. Now, she says, Gov. Jeb Bush is going to take away her last chance. At age 13, she attempted suicide and was hospitalized twice for depression. At 15, she became a mother. She had the math skills of a fifth-grader and a fear of reading aloud in class. Now she's catching up. But Bush has proposed cuting $51-million in juvenile justice money, which pays for the 19 PACE Centers statewide. The nonprofit centers help at-risk teenage girls like Amber. So Amber, now 16, wrote the governor. "If he shuts down the PACE Centers, there are more girls out there with nothing to look forward to," Amber said in an interview. The governor's budget will be the focus of the Legislature's next 60-day session, which begins Tuesday. Bush is recommending hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts that would affect an array of services and institutions around the Tampa Bay area: The University of South Florida would lose $17.9-million. St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College each would lose $1.2-million. The planned $60-million replacement of the Treasure Island bridge would lose $10-million. A network of runaway shelters and family centers in New Port Richey would lose half its funding. Every year, the governor's budget displeases someone. But the Legislature hasn't heard public outcry like this year in nearly a decade. "People are calling, people are making appointments, people are coming to Tallahassee," said Rep. Frank Farkas, R-St. Petersburg. It's so bad that Senate President Jim King traveled the state last month alerting editorial boards. He figures Hillsborough County would lose at least $35-million and Pinellas County $26-million. "These are some of the largest cuts in the history of the state," said Senate Majority Leader Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island. The budget woes are so severe that they threaten to overshadow other contentious issues, such as medical malpractice and worker's compensation. Rep. Sandra Murman, R-Tampa, called the budget the Legislature's "primary consideration." "It's like the gasoline in the car," Murman said. "We know our schoolchildren cannot sit in classes without money in the budget. Hospitals cannot run without money in the budget. Our prisons cannot operate to keep our communities safe. It's a necessary part of our lives." Her district office receives 200 to 300 e-mails a day, mostly on the state library, juvenile justice programs and mental health services. The budget cuts touch just about everyone who lives in Florida, whether they counsel runaways, manage a city government or own a business by the beach. People like George Magrill, who oversees Youth and Family Alternatives in New Port Richey, a network of runaway shelters and family centers in seven counties north and east of Tampa Bay. "I've been in Florida my whole life, I have kids in school, and I just think this whole thing is a mess," Magrill said. "All the legislators we've been speaking with appear to be frustrated. They just don't feel like their committees are going to get enough money to address some of these critical needs." Magrill's nonprofit youth organization would lose about $1.3-million from the state or 56 percent of his $2.3-million budget. That would force him to dismiss five counselors, leaving 200 families without help, and close one of three runaway shelters in Pasco, Polk or Hernando counties. Magrill hopes he can avoid such painful decisions. He's gaining support from judges, sheriffs and police chiefs, school superintendents and prominent local business people, who have joined parents in writing letters to legislators. Bush says the cuts are needed to pay for the class size amendment, which he opposed. He also wants to cut taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. To pay for the amendments and tax cuts, Bush proposes a controversial approach: siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars from trust funds earmarked for particular projects. That could shift some of the burden to local taxpayers. Two examples: the State Housing Incentive Program (SHIP) trust fund, which provides money to cities and counties for affordable housing, and another backed by money collected from decals sold to mobile home owners. Diverting money from those two funds would erase nearly $7-million from the budgets of Pinellas and Hillsborough governments and schools. "I think when you start cutting in to the marrow of local government, and how it's affecting local people, it will provide some of the impetus to revisit these issues," Largo City Manager Steven Stanton said. Then there's the beach renourishment fund. Businesses depend on it to shore up the tourism industry's biggest attraction. Bush would shift the entire $30-million into the general revenue budget. Pinellas expected $4-million from the fund, said Elithia Stanfield, the county's lobbyist in Tallahassee. She wonders whether it will get anything at all. That means prompting some tough decisions ahead for Pinellas commissioners. "Do they cut back on projects that our citizens have said, 'This is what we want and need in our community'?" she asked. "Or do they raise taxes when generally people don't like to see that?" King is sympathetic, but he needs public support to do anything: "We are not saying the speaker is wrong and the governor is wrong. Here's what it does. Here's how it affects people. You out there in the hinterland, when you read this, tell us! And tell the representatives who represent you, as well." Despite the public outcry, Bush has stood firm. House Speaker Johnnie Byrd shares Bush's view that taxes should not be raised. Bush is sanguine about the debate. "I think, at the end of the day, the Legislature will take care of our recommended budget and make some minor adjustments and it will pass," he said. Amber Bowden hopes not. The Pinellas PACE Center has 50 girls enrolled full time and keeps track of 325 girls ages 12 to 17 throughout the county. Some of the girls were abusing drugs or alcohol. Two-thirds are poor. Many have mental health issues, including suffering from post-traumatic stress. Bowden and her classmates are taking King's advice and letting lawmakers know how they feel. "I need this kind of structured environment," she said. "By the time I leave, I don't want to just have credits. They are working with me so that by the time I leave, I am caught up." -- Staff writer Julie Hauserman contributed to this story.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
