More bad financial news for schools

The news came late Friday -- Florida's budget looks to come in another $1.4-billion below initial revenue estimates.

Education, which gobbles up about a third of the state's spending, looked a prime spot to take a hit. But how much? Already the education lobbyists are making predictions and warning superintendents.

Ruth Melton of the Florida School Boards Association sent an e-mail to superintendents saying, in part:

"It is unlikely that such a session will be called before January 2009. At that time, if there is no new influx of revenue, it is expected that K-12 education will be cut by AT LEAST $500 million -- and this does NOT include reductions that may occur in local funding due to reduced property tax revenue.  In general, school districts are advised to brace for an ADDITIONAL 2-3% budget cut for THIS fiscal year."

Joy Frank of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents cut to the chase in her e-mail (which includes an attached summary of the estimating conference), too:

"The bottom line is that we need to reduce this year's budget by another $1.5 billion or find an additional $1.5 billion in revenue. If the decision is made to cut the FY 2008-2009 budget by another $1.5 billion the public school share of that reduction is about 34% or about $510 million."

We're still waiting to see how the districts will cut 1.93 percent, as mandated by the governor. Another round of slashing looks likely to increase the pain. And as Melton points out, this is all for the current budget year. Next year promises to hold much of the same.

Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino, whose district continues to see enrollment grow, recently said she plans to prepare a 2009-10 budget using 2005 funding figures. Stay tuned.

Comments

[terminator]

Patrick:
a good point that our school district piggy (er....I mean administrator) seems to miss.
If you add all the taxes we pay in federal, state and local sources that go to public education it works out to something like $17K per student, (capital construction PECO money included).
More, more, more the little piggies at school board headquarters cry. Give us more!
Yesterday, Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvahlo (you know the guy who left Pinellas standing at the alter) opined that school systems should get some of the feds bail out money.
Poor Mr. Carvahlo and Miami-Dade, they've only got 561 administrators who make over $100K per year!
Broward Superintendent Jim Notter chimed in seeking assistance as well citing dire circumstances if the districts have to cut their budget more in these hard times.
Patrick, I think these guys have developed such a sense of entitlement they just don't get it. Thats of course because they're in it for themselves (all the while citing the "children" and how the children will suffer).
The Florida public education system's a mess and we're in the process of cleaning up the cesspool.
After this session we'll need some mop up work but we've got these guys exactly where we want them. Now it's time to pull the trigger.
We'll let GOP legislators in Tally do that for us.
How low can you go as the old song goes?
More cuts on the way as school district administrators limbo their way through these turbulent waters!

[Patrick Kent]

It is time for us to once again to hold hands and CONNECT THE DOTS with the uninformed public! LA, LA, LA! CONNECT THE DOTS! Fact #1: In the golden years of education, before the New Deal of Lyndon Johnson which caused the beginning of the bloating of public education which we are so very aware of today, National, State and Local taxes were minimal at best. Fact #2: On this limited budget, school boards were able to educate people and pay their employees a decent living wage. These school boards educated and produced individuals who created the first atomic bomb, nuclear arms race, outer-space travel exploration, computers, the Internet, stealth technology, vaccinations, penicillin, antibiotics, insulin, medical imaging, DNA, biotechnology, bioengineering, transplants, etc. Hey termie, did school boards have crystal palaces with administrators making huge salaries while contributing nothing substantive as it pertains to the troops in the fields during those years? Did school boards have all of the wonderful personal perks? How did they ever survive back in the 10's, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and early 60's without the bloated crystal palaces? How did they ever produce such innovative and creative thinkers on a budget when compared with today's budget would be called minuscule? Can somebody please answer my question? DE DA DE!

[l]

Argue back and forth all you want, but the bottom line... administrators are making the decisions on how and who to cut and I don't see any of them putting themselves on the chopping block. Teachers are and have been doing more with less. Its not about wanting to get rid of standards! There are less expensive ways to measure standards and student achievement than FCAT.

As always, terminator ignores the message because he cannot respond. Is cutting another half billion from the schools in 2008-2009 and another billion more in 2009-2010 good for students? If yes, tap once. If no tap twice . . . I am trying to make the response system idiot proof for termie, but I am sure that he still won't be able to handle it.

I am afraid for what the state is doing to public education, but I can assure you that I am not in any way afraid for myself. If that bugs you, sorry. I have opportunities all of the time. I work where I do because of my love for public education. Its too bad that you do not have any love within you at all. I am sorry about that too.

[terminator]

so far my membership has lost no jobs.

and districts are being forced to get rid of the deadwood (like you my friend) not because they're actually interested in cleaning up their act but because they're afraid of a state takeover (the last thing in the world they want to see).

they know the jig is up and it's got nothing to do with the children (who are always used by friend of a friend bureaucrats like yourself to justify their sorry existance). I think you know the public and especially top GOP leadership isn't buying it.

It will be a GREAT DAY when the crystal palaces they call school district administration buildings are empty and you can hear your voice echo through the hallways.

Whhhaaaaaaaaaaa. whaaaaaaaaaaaaa. do you hear that sound in the back? It's the chainsaws coming to a school distict near you.

That's ok, rest assured "empty chair" Charlie Crist will save you with his 50cent a pack tax on smokes!

As terminator should know, most of the districts took the 2% cut from the holdback in July out of reserves. Still, his members didn't even see the raises that his employer negotiated for them. Now with additional mid-year cuts, they will actually face losing their jobs, benefits and or even seeing pay decreases in the current year. While he seems to gloat about what this will do to superintendents (how many of them will be layed-off?), termie is just too dumb to see how his membership will be impacted. He is too filled with hate to see who to blame. He is failing at this job (representing teachers) in much the same way he has previously failed at teaching and being a school administrator. No wonder he thinks so poorly of school administrators. He thinks they are all like he was when he was one and he washed out. No, termie, most school administrators are professional educators who really care about kids. Don't think they are all like you.

Anyway, back to the kids, anyone who thinks that cutting nearly $2 billion in general revenue between May of 2007 and July of 2009 is going to improve the schools for the kids? Anyone? termie? Any citizen and taxpayer who wants good schools for their children and grandchildren should be scared of the current policy direction from Tallahassee.

[terminator]

poor little piggies (Florida school districts).
the truck has picked them up and they're on their way to the slaughterhouse.
poor little piggies, see them all shake and quiver!

[dmj]

LOL yes lower the standards... there you go. NOT!

Some always want to raise YOUR taxes instead of cutting spending. There is a lot of extra spending out there that districts can easily cut. There is no need to lower standards when the districts and state spend millions on travel, consultants, and cars.

[Kari]

Like it or not-it's time to raise taxes, we can not allow our school districts to make any more cuts. What is next music, athletic programs and art. FCAT and all the expenses related to it should be elimiated immediately.