It’s now an annual spring ritual as certain as Tax Day: not long after April 15, the Flagler County School Board holds its first budget session when it gets an idea of how deep its fiscal hole is. The board did so earlier today. Unlike previous years, when state revenue was declining, this time it’s increasing—significantly: the state is budgeting a $5.3 million increase in dollars headed to Flagler.
And yet, the district is looking at a $1.4 million deficit, right from the start.
Don’t panic: in a roughly $100 million general fund budget, it’s among the smaller deficits the district has had to contend with in recent years. If anything, things are looking up. And the district has a $7 million reserve.
But the district is also hoping that voters will approve a 50-cent property tax levy supplement on June 7 to restore 45 minutes to the school day (eliminated two years ago to save money) and beef up security, chiefly by adding school cops in elementary schools. To board members, it’s still crisis mode.
So the $1.4 million gap figure had board member Trevor Tucker–usually the board’s most placid member–fired up with ideas to cut the budget, and enthusiasm to boot: Tucker wants to bring Matanzas’s and Flagler Palm Coast High School’s graduations back to their own campuses (rather than outsource them to Daytona Beach and St. Augustine), limit the school-cop program (the very program other board members want to expand, and pay for with a new property tax levy), severely scale back student travel to such things as the Problem Solvers’ national and international competitions, severely scale back staff travel, close Phoenix Academy, the specialized academic program with fewer than 100 students, if it’s not enrolling its full share of students, end the district’s after-school strings program, and, to cut down on the cost of substitutes, require that employees show a doctor’s excuse if they call in sick (a requirement that doesn’t kick in for five sick days, according to employees’ contract).
The board briefly analyzed its own list of potential cuts, going down a two-page itemization of most of the district’s programs and sorting out which are absolutely required and which are discretionary. But no decisions were made. The board asked its staff for more details on the numbers, and will devote a full morning, if not a full day, to its budget-cutting analysis next Tuesday, May 7, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Superintendent’s conference room at the Government Services Building. (The meeting is open to the public.)
This afternoon’s meeting was devoted mainly to getting a sense of the numbers, and an explanation for the difference between the state’s increased allocation and Flagler’s apparent net deficit.
There’s nothing darkly magic about it. Rather, the state’s math and the district’s math don’t mesh because state assumptions are not in sync with the district’s realities. At least that’s how Tom Tant, the district’s finance director, described it to the members of the school board as he went from surplus to deficit.
The final reality may not be as dire: the district’s own assumptions are based on worst-case scenarios, which even the school board members were not ready to embrace entirely. But one reason the district has maintained a more financially sound balance sheet, relative to other districts (think of Volusia’s hemorrhaging money and programs) is because of conservative budgeting.
Here’s how it works.
Yes, the state is budgeting that $5.3 million increase. But the state is also assuming that the Flagler school district will have 12,765 students next year. The district is estimating that there will be 283 fewer students than that. That’s probably an exaggeration: the district’s enrollment has leveled off, and this year it declined. “we’ve been losing students for the last seven months,” Tant said.
But a decline of 283 students would suggest that Palm Coast’s and the county’s population are declining. That has not been the case. County and city populations are increasing—very slowly, but still increasing.
It’s possible that the increase is driven entirely by retirees, but unlikely: the county’s labor force, which reflects a working age population, has been holding steady or increasing incrementally, too. Working-age people tend to have families, and children.
Nevertheless, since the state bases its funding on student enrollment, the 283-student difference equates to nearly $1.8 million. That reduces the state’s increased funding from $5.3 million to $3.5 million.
The state also expects Flagler schools to increase their contribution to the Florida Retirement System by $1.12 million. That reduces the state’s increased funding to $2.28 million. Included in that figure is the planned salary increase for teachers, just approved by the Legislature and championed by Gov. Rick Scott. The salary increase is not the original across-the-board $2,500 raise Scott had asked for. Rather, teachers rated as “effective” on their evaluations would get the $2,500, and “highly effective” teachers would get $3,500. Other teachers would get $2,000. Those raises also apply to charter school teachers.
The state Department of Education has already estimated what the raises will cost in Flagler: $2.1 million. Of course, there is a catch: Lawmakers are delaying the raises until June 2014. And if the raises are awarded at all, they’ll have to be based on an evaluation system that’s still embattled. But budgeting doesn’t take those uncertainties into account. The $2.1 million, as far as Flagler is concerned, will have to be awarded regardless. That reduces the district’s state increase to $180,000.
State lawmakers also passed a new law that now requires local school boards to pay their community college for high school students who also enroll in college classes under the popular dual enrollment program. Flagler’s new cost: $180,000.
That brings the state allocation to zero.
It’s not over. The state is also cutting Flagler’s transportation budget by $137,000 even though the state projects an increase in students. The state expects Flagler to contribute $210,000 to the so-called McKay Scholarship program—a voucher program that enables disabled students to attend private schools at public expense. The state barely monitors the program. But districts must pay its costs.
The district is also responsible for a $1.1 million in contract-mandated salary increases for teachers (so-called “step” increases that add to a teacher’s pay for every year worked). Its health insurance costs will increase by almost $300,000. Add to that several smaller costs from a variety of sources, and the local deficit mounts.
The district is planning to lay off 15 teachers and two administrators (Indian Trails Middle School and Wadsworth Elementary will have one assistant principal each, instead of two, beginning next fall). But even with that $785,000 cost reduction, the district will be left with an estimated $1.4 million deficit to start off the year.
That’s not the worst position to be in, especially when various factors are likely to reduce that deficit. Board members pointed out some of those factors: Sue Dickinson, for example, noted that most of the layoffs will actually be accounted for by natural attrition rather than firings, and attrition usually involves teachers who have been earning much higher salaries than the $43,000 average. So the savings are likely to be much higher. If student enrollment is not as dire as Tant is projecting it, the district will make back a few hundred thousand dollars there, too.
Nevertheless, board members are on the hunt for cuts, as much to balance their books as to convince voters that the good times are not here again, especially when the state’s increased dollars are attached to so many strings as to only strangle the district’s budget.
Nancy N. says
You do realize, Mr Tucker, that if you require every single employee who calls in sick to get a doctor’s note every single time they call in sick that your cost savings in substitutes will be far outweighed by the increase in your medical costs since your insurance company will be paying for them to go to the doctor for illnesses such as a routine case of the flu that they normally wouldn’t go for?
Also, what happens to the employee that calls their doctor and the doctor can’t see them that day? You are talking about placing a huge burden on the schedules of local doctor’s offices, requiring that people be seen by doctors that don’t really need to be seen, at a time when many GP’s are already overwhelmed.
And lastly, think about the hypocrisy of this with regards to student policies. Do you really think it’s going to be great for employee morale to say that we trust our employees less than we trust our parents and students (since they don’t have to show a doctor’s excuse until the third day)?
I can absolutely agree with some measures like moving the graduations and limiting the cop program. But treating your staff like errant children is not the way to do it.
Anonymous says
Go to a walk in clinic….you don’t need an appointment. The use of substitites is far too great. This is a huge expense to the tax payers, and it is about time that something is done about it.
Charles Crews says
The Walk-In Clinic will cost (1.5X to 2X) more than a regular visit to the Dr. Office. Insurance would increase dramatically. AND WHAT WILL THE DR. SAY………..You’ve got a bug that is going around. It’s probably a virus so antibiotics wont help…..Stay home and rest…….That was what the teacher was going to do anyway, but now they have spent $75 + time and the school insurance will be billed the other $150 to $175. Multiply that by 1000 teachers/employees that get sick just 3 days each year….a minimum of $450,000 in costs……I would expect the insurance company to double or triple the premium. Heck if they new that that was the policy they increase it now.
Would you really want a teacher that is only “little sick” to come in and work with a full classroom of students that may in turn get only a “little sick” and then each of those students will go home and may in turn get there family just a “little sick”. It will not matter how much handsanitizer to school system purchases…germs are tough and students touch everything in their path throughout the day…..
HighlyQualified says
Mr. Tucker has never worked as a teacher nor any public service job (other than the School Board.) He is not qualified to make an accurate, educated desicion(s) regarding the job of a teacher. He makes decisions based on scuttlebutt being conducted around the county and his own family ideology. Mr. Tucker should hold a public election for a position that pays 40k (approx.) to make uninformed decisions for his turf fertilization company. His family might not be too happy with the outcome. Oh well, at least they have affordable health care. Wait, that would change too.
Mr. Tucker is an upstanding man of our community. However, he is not qualified to make descions that affect professionals. He is a friend, parent, and local business owner. You dont see fertilizer technicians being paid and working as a judge in a court of law. Why should anyone who doesnt have creditenals in academia (school nurse does not qualify…) be responsible for making choices that affect teaching professionals?
The school board should be a civil service duty with no pay attached. You would see many of the current board members going elsewhere for payment aka work. The fat should be trimmed. In the military, the leaders are held accountable; not the troops. Why? Leaders are lifers. Troops are on a limited contract. You find the leaders and replace the troops as needed until you have a unit of lifers.
This rant is directed to all of the board members; not just Mr. Tucker.
Anonymous says
If the School Board posisiton was an unpaid position, the five board members that are on the board now probably wouldn’t be there. Yes, I agree…SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD NOT BE PAID!! Lets see who donates their salary back to school system and continues to serve—that will confirm what I’m saying.
Brad W says
This “you’re not a teacher and therefore do not understand” constant excuse is overused and doesn’t work. Many of these issues are employment issues and therefore are managerial. Teachers are employees that, yes, have training and education in a particular field. So do a lot of people!
One of the main differences is that the good majority of other employees do not get 2 months off each year and then take additional time off even at the beginning of starting their job again. I asked one school board member what was the substitute expense for the first month of every schools year and they said they would look into it.
It’s a valid demand. AND if people want our tax dollars and to pass this referendum then there should be gives and takes. It’s time to really start peeling back the layers of our schools and questioning everything. Two Assistants at a Middle School for example?! We shouldn’t even have two assistants at the High Schools! Enough is enough! Vote “no”.
kmedley says
The truth finally comes out, IF, the referendum passes, Mr. Tucker wants to “limit the school-cop program (the very program other board members want to expand, and pay for with a new property tax levy”. The .5 mill referendum was never about school security. Sandy Hook, the “game changer” is being used to increase taxes, PERIOD! At the minimum, the State will send $3.5 million to Flagler and it is still not enough. So, when is enough, ENOUGH?!
Bob Z. says
In order to change the sick leave policy the union contract will need to be changed…good luck with that Trevor.
nyy says
Vote No on the Tax Levy!
Joe Joe says
Once again the union will do more harm them good for it’s own members….
Bob Z. says
In regards to school security, why do we need sheriff deputies? Armed guards can be had for much less money and they would do just as good a job. Most of those are ex-military or retired law enforcement so the doubters don’t have to worry about hiring people that are not qualified.
Stevie says
“When you look at the average performance of American students on international test scores, our kids come off as a pretty middling bunch. If you rank countries based on their very fine differences, we come in 14th in reading, 23rd in science, and 25th in math. Those finishes led Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to flatly declare that “we’re being out-educated.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/04/youll-be-shocked-by-how-many-of-the-worlds-top-students-are-american/275423/
Public schools charge too much and perform poorly. Why should we expect schools to educate our children and keep them safe when they can’t balance their own budgets.
Magicone says
VOTE NO ON THE UPCOMING RAISE ON OUR PROPERTY TAXES FOR THE SCHOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous says
Thank you for pointing out that the state is putting increased financial burdens on the districts -such as paying for dual enrollment (which someone does need to pay) and less money for transportation among other things. And Mr. Tucker….I suggest you use the “I misspoke” excuse in regards to your comment about sick days…what a bonehead suggestions.
Anon says
Where are all of the reduce taxes and reduce spending tea party folks?
I know there are plenty of them around because I used to see them standing on corners in Palm Coast with signs in their hands.
They suddenly have gotten quiet as church mice when it comes to protesting spending and proposals for increased taxes by people they helped elect into office.
Mel Bronson says
Thank you, little inept potus! How does that Obama vote taste now?
A new poll conducted by global management firm Accenture finds that 41% of U.S. workers who graduated from college in the last two years are underemployed and working in jobs that did not require a college degree.
The poll also found that just 16% of college students who will graduate this year had already landed a job. Worse, 32% of the 2011 and 2012 college graduates who are employed make $25,000 or less in annual salary.
Low earnings like that make climbing out of student debt difficult. Indeed, 34% of those surveyed said they have student loan debt of $30,000 or less and 17% owed between $30,000 and $50,000.
With job prospects bleak and personal debt so high, 32% of the students who will graduate in 2013 say they plan to move back home after graduation. Indeed, 44% of those who graduated college in 2011 and 2012 say they currently live at home with their parents.
Realty Check says
The problem is these 5 members are in it for the salary and nothing else, because obviously: enough is never enough. They cannot or will not balance a budget and make tough cuts, you are cutting out in the field like teachers and principals, yet you have an assistant superintendent making 6 figures. Why in a district this size do we need all this wasteful administration? How about you sell the building on highway 100 to the sheriff and move to a portable behind a school, it’s good enough for the kids correct? THE 5 MEMBERS NEED TO BE OUSTED FROM OFFICE, UNTIL YOU MAKE THE SCHOOL BOARD A VOLUNTERY POSITION YOU WILL HAVE PEOPLE IN IT FOR THE SLARY AND NOT THE KIDS.
Bob Z. says
Schools in the US are better than most think Stevie, unless you tend to watch/listen just FOX News:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/22/american-teens-science-tests_n_3134326.html
It is ignorant to say that US schools perform poorly; most people in the US have attended public schools and we would not be the most powerful nation on earth if the schools were as bad as some say.
Stevie says
The huffington article tells me the US is ranked mostly in the middle of all nations. To me, for what we spend, that is poor. We should be #1 across the board. I see no reason why not except for the performance of the public schools.
confidential says
Lets stop blaming POTUS for all the conservative fallacies affecting our community issues today.
another teacher's perspective says
Mr. Tucker needs a reality check! Most of the substitutes used in this district do not “cover” for sick teachers! On a daily basis, we have 6-10 subs in each high school, and they are being used to proctor FCAT and EOC exams.. and this has been going on for a month or more now every single day! Can you imagine what that costs??? Now that Core Curriculum is being introduced, we have subs to cover to send teachers to workshops to learn more about the core curriculum. We have subs to cover the coaches to take their teams to “away” games and competitions and so forth which are scheduled during school hours! There are subs to cover while coaches go out and recruit for their teams. There are subs for the music teachers to take their performers to performances. Rare indeed is it that a teacher actually takes a sick day!!! Most teachers can’t afford to get sick; yet there are some teachers whom the district takes out of their classrooms for “professional development” or “temporary duty elsewhere” all too frequently. Now that teachers in middle school and high school don’t have planning during the school day, they will send a sub to your room so you can attend “IEP” meetings for exceptional ed students –so you are told you have to go attend a meeting for one kid — while the other 29 sit in your room being babysat for by a sub for 30-45 minutes. We have subs who come to school daily just to cover for the teachers who have to attend these meetings.
Teachers taking sick days isn’t what’s costly, it is the district choosing to bring in subs for all these other reasons! Mr. Tucker has never been an educator, never been an administrator, and most of us rarely see him in our schools, so he has no idea what sub funds are really being spent on. Visit once in a while and it would be really eye-opening.
Seriously Mr. Tucker, who is going to go to the doctor to get a note because they’ve been up all night tending a colicky baby, or watching over an elderly parent who has dementia and didn’t go to sleep until 5 a.m.? A little dose of common sense would go a LONG way!
Flagler Mom says
It would be great to see ANY of the board members or county administrators in our schools occasionally. How do they know how to dictate policy if they’re never with the people those policies effect.
Realty Check says
@ Flagler Mom, that will never happen, they do not get paid for that, Andy Dance is out cutting lawns, this is just a supplemental income for out SB members. They can all preach how much they care, try emailing one and see if you get a response, waiting 6 months now. I finally took my issues to the State but that is proving to be another government bust, only as a government employee is okay to be inadequate at your job, and move up.
Flagler Teacher says
I have to say that the only board member I ever see at my school in Mr. Fischer.
He’s at out school a few times a year at various events.
I never see Dance or Tucker at any school events.
FlaglerLive says
In Fairness to Andy Dance, and in the interest of accuracy, we cover enough events to know that despite his considerable family obligations, he is an equally constant presence at school events (we can’t speak to actual school visits, though whenever we’ve covered events that take place at school, during the school day, he’s usually there), and at other non-school events where the district may have an interest. The difference between Dance and Fischer is that Dance will attend controversial meetings or defend difficult issues where he may be confronted by unhappy constituents, not just feel-good back-patting events. An example was his campaigning for the sales tax last summer.
Mcsmiley64 says
I think there are a lot of people that are either misinformed or do not really understand what the .5 mil means for the district. The school board will have a balanced budget if the .5 mil passes or not, but what the district will be able to provide or continue to provide is dependent on the .5 mil (which comes out to about $25.00 a year for the average house).
The district is looking to use the money to make improvements to the schools’ security. I know a lot of people see the word security and automatically think security = armed guard, but the district is looking at improving the facilities to make the facilities more secure. These additions cost money and some schools costs to correct vulneralbilities are more than other schools. A very knowledgeable team consisting of school personnel, law enforcement etc. have completed a risk assessment at each school and have made recommendations for improvements. Additionally, they are looking to restore School Resource Officers (SRO) to the elementary schools. Currently, the officers at the schools are taking the shifts as overtime and are involved at the schools in several different capacities, but an SRO would be involved in more activities, think drug awareness programs, stranger danger etc. Also having SRO at the elementary schools increases opportunities for the schools’ communities to have access to law enforcement in the neighborhoods.
The .5 mil would also help to ensure that art, music, band etc. continue in the district, provide bus service for (elementary) students who live over 1 mile (instead of the 2 mile the state requires) and adds 45 minutes to the day for middle and high school students.
I’m not going to tell anyone how to vote. I won’t pretend to know if someone can afford the extra $25 a year. My share will be more than $25 and I would be happy to pay it because I know the improvements that money will bring.
As I noted before the district will have a balanced budget if it passes or not, but what services will be available for students depends on the .5 mil vote – what improvements the district makes will also depend on the vote.
Realty Check says
@ Mcsmiley
I have no problem with the $25 I would pay an extra hundred if I thought it would actually help the children, my issue is our school board will not make any serious cuts. They need to take a salary reduction, and cut the fat from the administration. This is nothing more than an easy out for them. Ask for more money so you do not have to make the hard cuts, hence no political suicide. They are backed by school district employees at election time; hell if I worked at the district I would back those that cut teachers and not administrators. In the real world you are given a budget, either you make it work or you are replaced, this is what needs to be done with our school board, how many of them would run for re-election if there was no salary? My bet maybe one or two at best
Liana G says
They are cutting 2 asst principal positions. That’s it?? In Volusia county they’ve had 1 principal over two schools for a long time. Why does BTMS/Wadsworth, ITMS/BTES need independent principals? Those schools are so close to each other that they do not need it. Heck, the schools in Flagler are very close to one another, and the school district is so small that it doesn’t need all these figure heads.
You’re cutting teachers? How is that going to improve education? And now you want voters to approve the tax increase in June so that yo can rehire the same teachers you plan to cut while keeping the unnecessary top heavy budget killing staff in place?
Are the asst principals required to teach in the schools in Flagler? The ones at my kids’ school do! And rightly so!!!!
Some of Mr Tucker’s suggestions are good. And the one about calling in sick can be easily checked against the individual employee to see if the policy is being abused. I remember an issue that a school in FL had with a habitual late teacher. The school decided to close the gates after the second bell? to accurately document the teacher habitual lateness. It worked!
Mcsmiley64 says
RC,
I agree that maybe 1 or 2 would run if there was no salary attached to the position, I really don’t know many people who would donate that much time without any compensation. I understand and agree that the best thing to do is to run the district as efficiently as possible to try and stay within the allotted amount the state has set aside for Flagler County School’s budget, and actually the county has been able to keep a lot of programs running during the last few years with smaller and smaller budgets. Our surrounding counties have not been able to do that. I believe that it’s going to be very difficult to continue programs with continuous cuts in the budgets. I don’t know what the cost of administrators is to the district, so I can’t comment on if they need to trim some. I would imagine that the highest expense by far is payroll. I would not be surprised to find tha 80% or more of the budget went to salaries.
I wish the district would let everyone know what their thinking is about what will be done if the .5 mil does not pass, that certainly would make trying to decide to vote yes or no a lot easier. I can see where the upgrades for safety for the facilities are needed- again I wish the district would give more information. Maybe they don’t want to sound like they are predicting doomsday (I think everyone is getting tired of that from politicians).
I find Mr. Tucker’s comment about closing Phoenix Academy interesting. I have no idea what that facility costs to operate, but I know at my daughter’s school there are empty classrooms. The overhead (utilities etc. ) for running that school(Phoenix) in its separate location would probably be a good place to cut. If you wanted to keep the school it could be moved to another campus and occupy some of the empty rooms.
I never really understood the in the real world comments people make. Schools are part of the real world. In fact, they are a very large part of the real world to the families that have children attending them (for better or for worse).
At least the citizens of Flagler County get to make the decision by voting. It will be interesting to see what the results will be
: )
Realty Check says
Mcsmiley64
Real world is the business world or your home budget, schools are part of the real world of coarse, what I am saying is the FCSB would be fired if they were not in the government. How do you not make budget, yet add a 6 figure position to the administration (assistant superintendent) this is just one example of the poor decision making skills we are up against. It was mentioned above about having assistant principals cover classes as subs when needed, this is a great idea, we save money and they get an inside look at their students.
teacher says
After reading comments posted in many of the FlaglerLive education articles, it is apparent that teachers are very unpopular with the general public. I’m not sure when this change started, but I can assure you that the teachers I know are not in this profession for the money…but to make a difference in the lives of our children. I really wish the public could see this.
Many of you may not realize that teachers don’t get to pick and choose what s taught. State standards mandate what is taught in the classroom. State standards keep changing and with the introduction of common core, are in the process of changing again. If you think that public schools are underperforming, contact the ones making the decisions about the state standards and testing requirements.
Finally I would like to say that many of the countries we are compared to do not educate and test EVERY student . We educate ALL children and even require students with disabilities to take the almighty FCAT. In some countries, only the top performing children move on to high school and college. You can’t compare apples to oranges.
Finally, if this additional property tax levy doesn’t pass, the board will cut many programs that we have fought so hard to bring to our schools. Principals were told that our district may close an elementary school, cut funding for transportation, cut funding for the Future Problem Solver Program, strings program, get rid of special area teachers—no art, health or PE for students. This only hurts the students. I agree that our board could trim the fat…school board salaries and benefits are too high and a district of this size is very top heavy with administrators. But if they have their way, if these cuts are made, school will be a dismal place for many students.
confidential says
This is what splitting our hard earned taxes, originally to fund traditional public schools create when forced to subsidize conservative politicized charters. Our public schools paying maintenance and utilities for empty class rooms and at the same time reducing transportation for our kids that have to walk one or two miles in unincorporated roads with no sidewalks/curves enduring speeding drivers as those kids are dimmed not eligible for the bus ride. All for the so called private businesses “not for profit” (no BS.!) charters. Results…? higher taxes needed…Where is the S.T. Party now?