Schools

Budget too tight for hot dogs

Schools look at turkey franks as rising costs and falling funding create cash flow woes.

By Jeffrey S. Solochek, Times Staff Writer
Published March 5, 2008

LAND O'LAKES - With all the talk of budget cuts coming out of Tallahassee, Pasco school superintendent Heather Fiorentino doesn't want to become an alarmist.

Even when pressed, Fiorentino hesitates to offer specifics of how the district might cope with stagnant or reduced funding. The numbers are uncertain, she says, until the final gavel falls in the Legislature.

Still, she's a realist, as she made perfectly clear to the School Board on Tuesday during a meeting and workshop where money became a pivotal issue.

"It is going to be bad," Fiorentino told the board.

How bad?

She had to ask the board for permission to take any necessary steps to move ahead with the refinancing of nearly $200-million in bonds. The district's bond counsel advised the board that the subprime mortgage fiasco has taken its toll on the municipal bond market, and investors have been bailing out.

The district needs to restructure its bonds before it faces a cash flow drain, he said.

As if that wasn't enough bad news, assistant superintendent Sandy Ramos told the board that the district stands to lose nearly $2-million in Medicaid funding because of federal rule changes. Fiorentino also observed that continued troubles with the state's investment pool could create cash flow struggles for the district in the fall, as it has $43-million in the pool that it can't access until at least September.

"It's a vicious cycle going on," Fiorentino said.

Even hot dogs are under scrutiny. Food and nutrition director Rick Kurtz told the board of plans to switch from hot dogs to turkey franks to save $25,000 through the rest of the year.

"We're going to test them at an undisclosed school today," Kurtz said, adding that he also expects to cut some positions and work hours to make ends meet.

At the same time that money is tight, expenses keep rising, chief financial officer Olga Swinson said.

The district is opening two new schools in the fall, with overhead costs of more than $2-million. It also will start preparing for three new schools to open the following year, which will cost about $835,000 in personnel costs and supplies.

State officials have projected the district will grow by 1,276 students, too. To maintain state-mandated class sizes, that could cost the district another $3.4-million in new teacher pay.

State-required changes to the reading curriculum could cost an estimated $4.5-million in elementary school reading materials, as well, Ramos added.

All that combined leaves little wiggle room for the School Board when budgeting, Swinson told the board, noting that 84 percent of the spending is tied up in personnel.

"We really have a small percentage to play with," she said. "So if we do have to cut, we will have to go back to the salary and benefits, to the people. We really don't want to do that."

Raises look unlikely. Swinson made her early spending projections for the coming year without including even a 1 percent salary bump. And talk out of Tallahassee is that districts will not get more money for 2008-09 than they got this year - a number that's been dropping daily.

If the district has seen a saving grace, Swinson said, it's that it is growing. Pasco had the highest increase in number of students this year among all Florida school districts.

That, along with basic moves such as a hiring freeze and withholding of 10 percent of all department spending, has meant Pasco's reductions from the state have been less painful than in other districts.

Board member Marge Whaley said she hoped the administration will keep teachers informed, so they're not taken aback when they see schools scaling back and little action on their contracts.

"(Lawmakers) will try to put a shine on it. They will try to buff it up and say it's not all that bad. But it is bad," Whaley said. "I don't think teachers have a single clue what we're facing."

Board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey also suggested that the district create an incentive program to encourage employees to come up with innovative ways to save money. Fiorentino said she would make that happen.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4614. For more education news, visit the Gradebook at blogs.tampabay.com/schools.

School board

In other business

The Pasco School Board also:

- Approved the appointments of David Salerno as principal of Seven Springs Middle School and Maureen Moore as director of communications and government relations. Salerno has been assistant principal at River Ridge Middle. Moore has been executive director of public relations for the Davie, N.C., school district.

- Affirmed the administration's decision to launch end-of-course exams for ninth-grade English, algebra and integrated sciences courses in May. Teachers union president Lynne Webb questioned the move, saying teachers had not been adequately prepared.

- Terminated the district's 401(k) plan for employees and authorized the preparation of an appropriate replacement. The IRS has said public schools must use different retirement plans than the 401(k).

[Last modified March 4, 2008, 21:56:55]