In hopes of saving thousands of dollars, Pasco and Hernando counties, and others in the pilot program, can purchase used textbooks - but only for one year.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published May 29, 2003
Hoping there is money to be saved, state lawmakers have given the Pasco and Hernando school districts special permission to buy used rather than new textbooks during the coming academic year.
The program, included in the bill that implements next year's state budget, is good for one year only. Sponsors David Russell in the House and Mike Fasano in the Senate said they plan to try to extend it another two to three years during the 2004 session.
"This will give us the opportunity to make any adjustments we want to make for next year to get it done for the full program," said Russell, a Brooksville Republican.
Russell and Fasano, a New Port Richey Republican, tried to shepherd a three-year pilot program through the Legislature during the regular session. The House approved the idea, but the Senate balked for reasons that remain unclear.
Fasano pushed Senate leaders to put the issue into the state budget during the special session that concluded Tuesday. The House, which at one point tried to cut the statewide textbook budget by $50-million, did not require similar arm twisting.
At a time when local school officials are decrying the low levels of state funding for education, they looked at this concept as a bright spot.
"That's actually one of the good things in the budget," Pasco superintendent John Long said. "That has the potential of saving us several thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands of dollars."
A review by state auditors determined that districts could save as much as 24 percent if freed from buying new textbooks from the Florida School Book Depository, a private company that sells the majority of textbooks purchased in the state. State law requires that publishers store books in a depository, from which districts must buy.
Fasano estimated the savings could run into the millions as districts "get away from the monopoly system of the depository." The sample program, which also extends to Polk and Seminole counties, will help find out if that is true, he and Russell said.
Hernando School Board Chairman John Druzbick, who actively pushed for flexibility from the depository purchasing mandate, was pleased that the lawmakers achieved what the district had been unable to do over several years. The board had requested waivers from the requirements several times, but repeatedly was denied by the Department of Education.
Druzbick would have preferred a longer program, though he called the language in the appropriations bill a "good start."
He also was happy to learn that the House had failed to cut $50-million from the state textbook budget, which instead remained flat at $227-million. That means the local districts, rather than the state, will reap any savings the pilot program generates, he said.
Russell, who noted that the Hernando board came up with the idea, said local districts deserve to use the money they save.
"That money should be used for enhancements," he said. "If the school boards have gone through the effort . . . they should be able to spend the money where it is needed."
Russell also noted that the quality of textbooks should not be diminished by this program, because districts still will have to buy the Florida edition of the books adopted by the Department of Education.
"The bottom line is, we want the best quality materials at the best price," he said.
- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education and politics in Hernando County. He can be reached at (352) 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com
