A workshop reveals that depending on the state budget, the district may need to trim as much as $34-million.
By MONIQUE FIELDS
Published February 26, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - The Pinellas School Board may have to trim $6-million from its bottom line during the next school year, and that's the good news.
The bad news is the cuts could reach as high as $34-million.
Those two extremes were presented to School Board members Wednesday during a budget workshop. Administrators said they are largely the result of soaring health care costs and the class size amendment.
"Revenue in no way can cover what our needs are," chief business officer Lanse Johansen told board members.
District officials are looking at their options ahead of the legislative session, which opens next week. There is no way to know how much money, if any, will have to be cut until lawmakers approve a state budget, which is expected to happen in May.
The scenarios presented to the board Wednesday assume Pinellas schools will receive an additional $25-million in state and local funds next year.
Board members were told a $6-million cut would not save enough to provide teacher raises. A $34-million cut would allow for just 2 percent increases.
Too many programs are competing for the same pot of money, administrators said. And many of the largest factors affecting the bottom line are out of the school district's control.
Soaring health care costs are hurting schools districts across the nation. In Florida, the voter-approved class size reduction mandate also is tugging at purse strings.
The timing couldn't be worse. Pinellas is one of many Florida school districts trying to raise teacher pay to the national average. The average Pinellas teacher currently receives $40,068. That is about $7,106 below the national average.
School board members are considering asking Pinellas voters to support a property tax increase for four years, the longest time allowed by state law. The money would go into general operations, primarily to increase teacher pay and avoid program cuts.
The board hasn't agreed on a tax amount, though most discussion has focused on an increase of $1 for every $1,000 assessed taxable value. For a $150,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, that would mean an additional tax payment of $125 each year.
The tax would raise about $50-million annually for four years, then the district would have to ask voters to renew it.
The School Board also is looking for ways to save money.
Board member Mary Brown wondered whether the district could shift some health costs onto employees. That idea was a nonstarter for Mary Russell, a board colleague.
"We're in the middle of a health crisis," she said. "We can't just look at what's best for Pinellas County Schools. We have to look at what our employees want."
