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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Palm Beach County faces almost 32 million dollar shortfall

From the Sun Sentinel, by Marc freemen

It's another gloomy financial forecast for Palm Beach County public schools, but a projected $31.7 million shortfall is a slight improvement over last year.

School District officials on Friday previewed the developing 2012-13 budget, outlining possible impacts on academic programs, building projects, students and workers.

The good news is more state funding for schools that maintain an A rating or improve — $100 per student up from $70 — plus no immediate plans for employee layoffs or furloughs, and a continuation of a successful class-size compliance plan.

The bad news is there is no money set aside for employee salary increases, no money for new construction projects, a hiring freeze except for teachers, and more district office spending cuts.

And then there's uncertainty surrounding the future of a 2011 state law requiring public employees to contribute 3 percent of their pay toward their retirement. A state court threw out the pension requirement this month and it will be reviewed by Florida Supreme Court.

If the lower court ruling stands, that could mean a sudden funding loss of $27 million for Palm Beach County schools.

"That would put a pretty big hole in the budget," Chief Operating Officer Michael Burke told members of a citizens budget committee. "It's kind of a dire prospect."

This year's district budget tops $2.3 billion. The largest piece is the $1.5 billion for operations, including everything needed to serve 174,000 students in 187 schools.

To balance this year's spending plan, the School Board eliminated a $35 million shortfall. It did so by laying off fewer than 100 workers, imposing $28 million in cuts to administrative departments and schools, and limiting raises to teachers only.

For the upcoming 2012-13 school year operating budget, administrators are projecting a $31.7 million shortfall.

This may surprise people who have heard that the new state budget includes about $1 billion more for public schools in Florida, Burke said.

While state funding increased by $150 per student, there's a loss of federal funding per student of $208. The new sum of $6,375 per student for next year is $58 less than the current year, he explained.

The situation becomes more bleak because the district anticipates nearly $900,000 in less revenue from a special property tax, and there is $24 million in rising costs for employee health insurance and other expenses.

So the outlook is not favorable for employee raises, which is sure to upset labor unions.

"Some of our employee groups are under the impression we're sitting on a pot of money now," Burke said.

The 2012-13 budget preparations, including ideas to erase the shortfall, are in the early stages. The School Board's first public hearing is not until July 25, when property owners will find out their likely school tax bill.

Superintendent Wayne Gent said the process "will not be easy." But he promises a focus on creating a budget that "puts the students' needs first and protects our workforce to the greatest extent possible."

mjfreeman@tribune.com or 561-243-6642

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-palm-school-budget-shortfall-20120316,0,3074461.story

1 comment:

  1. Wonder how much longer it will take before folks begin to make the connection between RT3 and state level unfunded, unfundable mandates as underlying causes for this shortage. Taxpayers have seen the writing on the wall for some time. The only way to push this along is through property tax hikes.

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