Audit Committee to Oversee District Sales Tax Funds Should Referendum Pass

BRADENTON – A resolution to add renewal of the Manatee School District's half-cent sales tax to November's ballot was unanimously passed at Tuesday's school board meeting, following revisions to the resolution that gives the district's voluntary audit committee greater oversight over funding from the tax.

The changes to the resolution came after board members said they agreed with people who had commented on the agenda item prior to board discussion on the item.

Peggy Martin, the first community member to comment on the item, said to the board: "The audit committee should be asked to review the spending and report to the school board every quarter to see that the money are being spent properly."

Following public comments, board member Charlie Kennedy said that the school board should do bonding with sales tax funds for the first three to four years following sales tax renewal (should it pass) in order to start planned construction for the district’s new high school and elementary school; but after that, he said, the district should move to a "pay as you go" system for sales tax funds.

Kennedy acknowledged that while "there were some mistakes made along the way" with the district’s past handling of funds and that while not every metric was hit for the 2002 referendum, "we did hit (a lot of them)." He added that the district should have a priority list for its construction projects, "So that every school community can say, 'Okay, here’s where I fit into this sales tax renewal and this is what I can expect from it.'"

Board member Bob Gause, who said he agreed with the idea of having an independent third party holding the sales tax funds, said he and Superintendent Diana Greene had previously looked at the possibility of having the Manatee Clerk of Court hold said funds, but it was determined that it would not be legal for them to be holders of the funds. "I’d make the audit committee our oversight committee" instead, he added.

Board chair Karen Carpenter said she agreed with the idea. Board attorney James Dye said that the resolution would be revised to make the committee have oversight over funds, but that such a revision would also mean that any audit committee members with ties to industries that may benefit from the sale tax would not be able to serve.

Audit committee chair Joe Blitzko said he was fine with the added responsibility of sales tax funding oversight. The most important part of the process, he said, "is that staff prepares reports that indicate what funds are being spent on what projects É whether it be a bond or a sales tax; and also that, periodically, staff report to the school board É and say, 'here’s what we plan on spending this quarter or six months.'"

Blitzko later added that the audit committee is simply an oversight committee, and that the district’s internal auditor should be the first to overview funding, with the school board being the next. "The audit committee could be the individuals who make sure that process happens," he said.

If November’s district sales tax referendum passes, the sales tax will stay in effect until Dec. 31, 2032.