Florida School Funding: ‘They Have Abdicated Their Duty’ (FL)
July 1, 2010
The Polk County School Board voted 6-0 last month to continue a property tax of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed evaluation. Faced with the discontinuation of $30 million in federal stimulus dollars that help with the current year’s budget, board members said the revenue from the tax, adopted last year, is a critical need for schools.
Polk County is not alone. More than 40 of the 67 school districts in Florida have already opted to levy the one-quarter mill tax – in order to make up for reductions in local and state funding for public schools.
The Charlotte County School District, for example, has levied the 0.25 mill tax, which was authorized by the Legislature in 2009. Sarasota County has not, but its voters approved a 1 mill tax to supplement state funding. A total of five districts utilize the 1 mill option to generate additional local funds, and six districts levy between one-quarter and three-quarters of a mill. (A 1 mill tax rate is equal to $1 tax per $1,000 taxable value.)
STATE CUTS POLK FUNDING
Polk and other school districts have had to turn to local taxes because of cutbacks in school funding from Tallahassee. Polk County has lost $62 million in funding from the state since 2007.
State legislators, said board member Margaret Lofton, should have done what they were supposed to do over the past sessions: funded schools, rather than reduce funding and leave it to local school boards to come up with the money.
"They have abdicated their duty," Lofton said. "They have put the onus of taxes on every school board in the state of Florida."
In addition to cutting school funding, the School Board must comply with state mandates, including those from referendums, reg ardless of whether the Legislature funds those mandates. This year, the district will spend about $11 million complying with a class-size amendment that imposes limits for the number of students in classrooms.
It was a point not missed by board member Tim Harris, who said if the Legislature would reduce some of the mandates it imposed, "It would be the equivalent to having a revenue increase."
Meanwhile, the more than 92,000 students attending schools will remain steady – and could increase slightly – for the 2010-2011 school year.
That’s the reality facing the School Board. It’s encouraging that board members are sending out the message that some hard decisions will be needed just to maintain that status quo.