Manatee School Board May Raise Tax; Discussed School Closings and Consolidations

BRADENTON – To offset cuts to schools, Manatee schools Superintendent Tim McGonegal is asking the school board to consider an additional tax for next year.

Also in a meeting Monday, McGonegal told board members that he wanted to form a committee and hold public forums to consider shuttering or consolidating schools, a measure that school board could take if district finances worsen.

Manatee school officials estimate that they are going to have to slash $8.87 million from their operating budget next school year.

This would be the third year the district has to trim its budget because of tax revenue shortfalls. In the past two years, the district had to slash $44 million from their operating budget, which resulted in cuts to employee pay and benefits, changed school schedules and other expenses.

The outlook for the 2011-12 school year would be worse: the two-year federal stabilization fund totaling $14 million would run out, McGonegal said.

If it passes, the income from the extra quarter mill will help buffer about $6.7 million of the cuts for the next school year, according to a memo (PDF) McGonegal wrote to school board members.

For the 2009-10 school year, the district has a $706.8 million budget, said Jim Drake, assistant principal of finances. Of that, $325 million is set aside for operating expenses, which includes salaries.

Already, the district’s expenses are projected to be higher than its income, McGonegal said. That is why he is urging board members implement the extra millage to help offset the cuts. The tax would be for one year, and voters would have decide whether they are going to allow it to continue after that.

State lawmakers in 2009 allowed school districts in the state to add the tax, but Manatee schools decided against it, he said. Since then, 43 school districts in Florida have levied the ”.25 critical-needs property taxes,“ McGonegal said.

If the tax passes, a home valued at $167,000 with a $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $1,259, an increase of $35, according to Drake.

Another solution would be to figure out how to consolidate the 6,000 empty seats in the 55 the schoolhouses across Manatee County. That would include shutting down schools or turning them into kindergarten to eighth-grade facilities.

”This would take a considerable amount of time, and it’s not a 2010-11 solution,“ he said. ”I think it’s possible. I want to analyze the data and bring that information back.“

This and other recommendations were culled from a budget committee made up of district administrators and citizens. Other solutions included selling advertising on school buses, offer bus inspection services and selling off properties that aren’t being used, according to the memo.

After giving board members an overview of the district’s budget situation, McGonegal also recommended giving non unionized employees ranging from administrators to secretaries a step increase, pay raises based on experience and years at the district.

Board members Harry Kinnan, Walter Miller, Jane Pfeilsticker and Barbara Harvey, voted 4-1 approving the increase, with School Board Member Bob Gause voting against. The automatic increase would be for one year only. The move would cost the district $730,000.

Board members who voted for it said it would only be fair to other unionized employees – namely the teachers, aides, custodial workers, bus drivers and others – who would contractually get a step increase. Gause said he does not feel comfortable about the increase if the board is going to consider raising property taxes.

The school board typically holds workshops and public hearings on the budget before adopting it in September 9.