Florida School Budget Crisis

Special Message from Charlie Crist - 3/19/09

2009-03-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

March 19, 2009

Dear Friends,

This week we have been celebrating Sunshine Week – recognizing Florida’s open government laws. We serve the people of Florida with openness and transparency every day. However, every year during this week, we strive to find new ways to make state and local government more accessible to the public. To achieve this goal, today we launched a new Web site, www.FlaRecovery.com.

As you know, these are challenging times for our nation and for our state. Yet, I believe that Florida will weather this storm as we have weathered storms in the past. Brighter days are ahead. We know people are hurting, and that is why I am grateful for Florida's fair share of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

FlaRecovery.com will give the people of Florida a window to observe how these federal funds are working for Floridians. This Web site will empower the people of Florida to see every step of getting the much-needed federal recovery dollars into the Sunshine State’s economy. Visitors to the site can easily connect to information about programs that can help during these challenging times. The Web site provides easy access to all public records and documents related to the implementation of the federal stimulus dollars. It also will help Floridians easily connect to information about programs that can help during these challenging times – help in finding a job and help in applying for programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and cash assistance.

America is in the early stages of the federal recovery effort, and the FlaRecovery.com Web site will evolve as information flows down from federal level. I invite you to check on our progress and track the steps we are taking to get this much-needed relief to our people. Our schools, our workforce, our transportation projects and our most vulnerable residents will receive the funds they deserve.

I am confident that we as Floridians will work together to recover from these challenging economic times. I hope for a speedy recovery that will enable us to continue to provide our citizens and visitors with a great place to live, work and play.

Thank you and may God bless our beautiful state.

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Local 6 Save our School series...

2009-03-11T06:22:00.001-07:00

MEMORANDUM

To: Classrooms in Crisis Committee

From: Dr. Richard A. DiPatri, Superintendent

Subject: Channel 6 - Save Our Schools Interview

I am writing to inform you that WKMG, Channel 6, will broadcast a week-long series entitled “Save Our Schools,” beginning on Monday, March 9 at 5:30 p.m. This broadcast ties into many of your organization’s efforts both locally and in Tallahassee to keep the community and elected officials educated on the future of public education due to the potential reductions in education funding.

Each day during the Channel 6 Save Our Schools series, a Central Florida superintendent will participate in a live interview. I have agreed to participate in this series and will do a live interview on Wednesday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. The interview schedule is as follows:

Monday Seminole

Tuesday Osceola

Wednesday Brevard

Thursday Orange

Friday Marion

(Subject to change)

Please promote this information within your organization and contact Christine Davis at 321-633-1000, extension 796 if you need additional information.

Kneessy vs. Naysayer

2009-03-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is long but lots of detail. It is an e-mail so to understand it all start at the bottom and read up.
**************************
FYI! I wanted to share this email correspondence with you because I
wanted you to know what a great job Mrs. Kneessy has been doing with the
perennial naysayers in our community who actually believe our funding
reductions are ok with them. Of course, outstanding results at a
reasonable price couldn't please our anti-public education friends no
matter what we do. Nor does it matter that our children will be
shortchanged by the wrong-headed "no tax under any conditions" policies
promoted by them.

Dr. DiPatri

-----Original Message-----
From: Kneessy
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 9:17 PM
To: scott
Subject: RE: School Board(MORE)Emotion Substitution for Math(NOT)

Your original email was what started this. My numbers have been well
publicized with Florida Today as well as are posted for anyone's review
under budget reductions on the school website. I have offered before to
meet with you at anytime to answer your questions or criticism. You are
wrong on this issue but nothing I say or do will ever change your mind.
This conversation is over as far as I am concerned and I will not
respond
any further to you.

Amy Kneessy
[Original Message]
From: scott
To: scott, Amy Kneessy
Date: 3/4/2009 6:01:48 PM
Subject: RE: School Board(MORE)Emotion Substitution for Math(NOT)

I believe the holier-than-thou attitude began with your initial
e-mail,
Amy.

You assume I have no clue, and make further innuendoes my numbers are
incorrect, yet fail to provide the correct numbers.

You have yet to define what is the 'right thing to do'.

And while you may think (not show) I am clueless, between myself and
my siblings we have had/have 7 children in the Brevard County School
system, as well as all four of us passed through the same system through 1980.

The funding and crisis issues are math issues, not emotional issues,
but I certainly do not blame you when math is not on your side to move into
personal issues and factless hyperbole. After all, it worked last week
for the Good Doctor.

Scott
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: " Kneessy" Reply-To: kneessy@earthlink.net
Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 06:09:14 -0500

Of course, you think you are right and have all the answers and the
rest of us should just bow down and worship you. I have just as many degrees
and experience without the arrogance. Your facts are only partially right
and your interpretation completely wrong because you do not have a clue
about the education funding formula, the education of children, or any of
the education mandates. I may be passionate about my job but I will
continue to focus on what is the right thing to do NOT politics as usual.

Amy

[Original Message]
From: scott
Date: 3/3/2009 7:59:45 PM
Subject: School Board Emotion Substitution for Math

That's a fine analytical group of comments, Amy.
I have taken to date about an 8% pay cut (payable to employee trust
fund) and another 3% (payable to the employee picnic fund).
That's around $850 a month, cash, after taxes. I think you are
still 5% short.

As for facts, I earn $139,000 a year, not $160,000. But in usual
School Board fashion, we are not after the facts but the emotional gotcha.

The numbers I reference are printed in the Florida Today every year,
in July I believe (I'm still at work and my papers are at home). The bar
charts and legal advertisement (raising the property tax revenue each
year) are paid for by the School Board. The amount lost by student ($445
and 6%) comes from the attached article by Ms. Preston.

Are you saying Dr. DiPatri and your Finance Director published
incorrect numbers?

I am sorry you cannot keep up with me. Maybe with another 15 or 20
years experience, an MBA and a Computer Science degree, and work about 55
hours a week and you can get within shouting distance. Your comments, not
mine.

Unfortunately I cannot clone myself to run for multiple offices. I
have been on the County Commission, this is my last term as Clerk, and I
doubt I will run again for another position that requires you to live it.
None of the jobs you have mentioned compare with the work and complexity of my
present position. Should the Legislature decide to gut the Clerk's
Office, thus greatly reducing my work and complexity, I probably would resign
in 2010 to run for the Legislature.
The problem with the elected School Board is they are Yes Men for
the Superintendant. Perhaps if we had an elected Superintendant we could
get someone who can do math and not have to resort to grabbing microphones
to raise a riot amongst the crowd when inconvenient facts and figures
rear their head. I have seen the tactic before during the 2003 Sales Tax
Referendum (missed you on that one) by the good Doctor. However, it
fails when the other side is ready for the New Jersey Bullhorn tactics, thus
I never did see the good Doctor again in any of the Sales Tax debates
Bruce and I were engaged in.

I agree with part of the Problem or part of the Solution. However,
when the Solution desired is to continue to raise taxes I would perceive
you to be the wrong part.

My point is the School Board collected runaway revenue for a good
five or six years while student population was flat. Do you dispute that?

Now I do dispute the School Board company line that the State has
reduced your revenue by $100 million. If that were true you'd already have
layoffs.

According to Ms. Preston you have lost so far $445 per student, a
thumbnail estimate of that and 70,000 students is $30 million.
Perhaps you can furnish the actual revenues you have received from the State in FY
2006/07 and FY 2007/08, or if fudging ahead to FY 2008/09, those will do.

The Brevard County School Board has a problem because it sank
windfall revenue from the Housing Bubble into recurring Debt and Operating
costs. A grossly ill-defined capital outlay program burning through hundreds of
millions of dollars, relying on a perpetual Housing Bubble, has proven
to be destructive. A lack of demographic research for student populations
did not help either. That is where I see a big part of the problem.

Otherwise, perhaps you may elaborate on why the Schools are in such
dire straits that a massive error and scare tactic induced rally, rather
than a discussion of the real math, was undertaken instead of a rational
discussion on where you were financially, where you are and where you
are going, how you got to each spot, and what can be done to help.

Unfortunately, the theme of the rally was just "MORE".

As I said, I wish I had all the clones, then I could retire and
watch them ask the tough questions that need to be asked and cut through the
fog and smoke used by many governments to mask true financial and
operational analysis.

Now, as for putting my money where my mouth is, in six different
elections, going back to 1986, I have put in over $100,000 of my own
money into my campaigns. I have yet to have a campaign where I outspent my
opponent. On the contrary, I am normally greatly outspent.

Last year I spent $10,000 above the $8,000 filing fee to defeat an
allegedly well known opponent who spent over $80,000.

Just maybe the voters see the same Problems and Solutions I do?

Yours Truly,

Scott
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: " Kneessy" Reply-To: kneessy@earthlink.net
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 18:14:21 -0500

Scott,
I usually agree with many of your criticisms but lately you have
gone too far. You continue to portray yourself as an expert of the Palm Bay
City Council, the Brevard County Commission, the Brevard County School
Board,and the State Legislature. I am sure there are others you have
critiqued lately besides these but I have been too busy doing my job
to keep up with you. With all of the time you spend investigating other
government agencies it is a wonder you find time to do your own job.
Since you have all of this free time why don't you join the rest of us and
take a 5% reduction in your $160,000 salary. I would be happy to sit down
with you and explain where the numbers come from and why the expenditures
and budgets have been like they are. You have taken a little information
and put your own spin on it without all the facts. Since you are such an
expert in so many areas, why don't you give up your job and run for
school board, city council, county commission, or the state legislature? My
philosophy has always been and will continue to be : you are either
part of the solution or part of the problem. Maybe it is time for you to
put your money where your mouth is.

Amy Kneessy
Brevard County School District 3

----- Original Message -----
From: scott
To: scott
Sent: 3/2/2009 12:17:35 AM
Subject: Legislators and Others Need ALL of the School Financing
Facts (often in the School Boards own words and reports)

Where did Alleged Financial Crash of Schools Originate?

A recent guest column in the Florida Today by Ms. Judy Preston, the
Associate Director of Finance, caught my eye in as much as what was
not said as what was said. A slew of manipulative ranking numbers were
thrown into the column bemoaning the alleged horrible funding of Florida
Schools as well as some real numbers of the size of the cuts, but nowhere was
it mentioned where all the windfall of the last six or seven years had
gone.

"Florida ranked 17 percent below the national average in per-student
education funding". Based on Ms. Preston's own numbers that a
reduction per student of $445 equals a 6% loss, then the other 94% still left
means Brevard County gets from State and Local taxes about $7,000 per year,
per student. A classroom of 20 students gets $140,000 per year, every year.
Considering the teacher's pay and benefits run about $60,000, that
leaves $80,000 per classroom for Administration, Maintenance, and Supplies.
If the National Average per student is $8,400, how was the $8,400
derived?
Ms. Preston states Florida ranks 42nd in the nation in per student
expenditures, and I find it mathematically odd that one could be 17%
below
the average, have only 8 states below us, yet be spending well over
$100,000 per classroom and building hundreds of millions of dollars in
new facilities.

The 'drastic reductions' mentioned are reductions in the Housing
Bubble induced great increases the School Board has received. Looking over
the July 26th, 2008, published charts of financial data, by the School
Board itself, Operating Revenue from 2003 to 2008 rose from $437 million to
$601 million, an increase of about 40% in five years. Student population
rose during these same five years a total of 2,000, roughly 3%.

Clearly revenue has been more than adequate to maintain service, yet
the skunk in the woodpile has yet to be identified. The Schools often
decry the costs of the classroom size amendment without noting Brevard
County had always proclaimed the smaller class size here BEFORE the amendment had
even passed. While money has been used to expand certain campuses, much of
the construction had little to do with additional classrooms but with
accessory facilities, such as new football stadiums, performing arts centers, gymnasiums, and often school and school additions built without demographic study or regard.

I had been told a few years back the Brevard School had 10,000 empty
seats, and based on the school closure list, evidently there are many.

However, with so many empty seats and a downward demographic trend in
students, school expansion was performed with borrowed cash from
Certificates of Participation (COPs). Even worse than the COPs
financed with the School Capital Millage, the School Board began issuing RANs
(Revenue Anticipation Notes) to BORROW money to spend this year from
the subsequent year. These RANs continue to be used as a substitute for
the reserves which should have accrued during the windfall days of the
Housing Bubble, but were not.

I had debated with School Board members and the Director of Finance
back in 205 when the School Board announced it could borrow and spend $700
million on facilties, for FREE. Pressed for the assumptions of the
free money, the Schools responded, both to me and in an op-ed Florida Today
piece, the free money was based on the assumption the tax base of
Brevard County would grow by 10% a year EVERY year for the next five years.
Well, pop, pop, pop, the 'new' money is not going to come in, the money has
been borrowed and spent, and the Chief detects the first of a few financial
problems are about to hit the fan as the tax roll goes BACKWARDS and
money to pay a fixed debt service shrinks. RAN borrowing and excessive
capital COP borrowing now eat into the monies for operating and maintenance on
a recurring basis, compounding financial shortfalls.

Demographics were not a School Board strong suit. Titusville High
School, with the shuttle shutdown looming, spent about $50 million on
a refurbishment which included a new Performing Arts Center and a new
Football Stadium. Rather than share a stadium with Astronaut High,
another new stadium was built for AHS. A new elementary school was built
below Palm Bay, probably to try to choke out the charter school built by the
city, and now a new $80 million high school will be opened which,
given demographic trends, will most likely be superfluous. Numerous
classroom and specialty addtions were made to schools on the closure list.
Numerous performing arts centers and gymnasiums were built as well. It is not
all about the classroom size amendment.

The show at the King Center was indeed contrived by a multitude of
scare tactics sent home via backpack brigades. We are to believe 9th grade
sports are on the rocks after tens of millions were just spent on gymnasiums and football stadiums. Math and Science teachers were allegedly on the block when in fact, due to the union rules, any layoffs will be based on seniority, not merit (lack of) or subect taught. A
hit list of school closures came up with schools less populated. Oddly
enough, it was never suggested these low population schools could perhaps stay
in business with the reduction of Administrative Staff, but it is doubtful
the King Center would be packed with threats of laying off a multitude of Administrators and staff.

Many on the School Board decried 'State Mandates', yet rather than identify the costs of the mandates and the savings achievable with their demise, the call was simply more money. I have no idea why Legislators expected anything less than a show trial, but had the mandates and funding been discussed rationally it is likely the schools could have worked to be able to handle education with tradeoffs of both fluff and mandates.
No such discussion was possible in the highly partisan atmosphere (by
design) at the King Center.

Given the propensity of the School Board to have sunken their
Housing Bubble Windfall into recurring costs of salaries and debts it is
unlikely they will soon escape their financial issues. It is often a ratchet
effect with many governments, when times are good recurring expenses are increased, when times are bad taxes are raised rather than trim the recurring expenses created.

Keep in mind when Ms. Preston speaks of Education Funding being
'gutted' the school revenues are well ahead of where they were just a few
shorts years ago, even with some reductions now factored in.

Scott
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090221/COLUMNISTS0205/90220021/1138/OPINION
The numbers don't lie
Fla. lawmakers must stop gutting education
BY JUDY PRESTON * GUEST COLUMNIST * February 21, 2009
Based on the U.S. Constitution, public education is a state
responsibility, just as national defense is a federal responsibility.
Nonetheless, Florida has historically spent far less than most other
states
on its public K-12 education system.
In the 15 years between 1989 to 2005, Florida went from ranking 20th
nationwide in expenditures per student to 42nd as reported by the
National
Center for Education Statistics.
In 2004-05, the most recent year for which figures are available,
Florida
ranked 17 percent below the national average in per-student education
funding, and that was before the last two years of severe reductions
in the state education budget.
While this data is disheartening, it is more troubling to know that
since the beginning of last school year, the state has reduced the
per-student funding by $445, or 6.1 percent.
Another possible 2 percent cut before June 30 would mean the loss of
another $140 per student, plus a 16 percent reduction next year,
meaning the loss of yet another $1,120 per student.
When does it stop? I can certainly understand that citizens do not like additional
taxes, but I do not think they want our young people shortchanged by funding
their education at the bottom of the nation.
Is that really where Florida wants to be? At the bottom?
Definitely not!
Would increasing educational funding to at least the national
average be an improvement?
Absolutely! If Florida would return to funding education as it did
pre-lottery by devoting over 60 percent of general revenue to
education, it would go a long way in correcting this funding disparity.
Currently, state support has slipped to providing less than 51
percent of public K-12 educational support. The burden has now been placed
squarely on the shoulders of you, the local taxpayer, to fund the majority of
public K-12 education.
Yet Article IX of the Florida Constitution states the education of
children is "a paramount duty of the state." It also addresses the
class-size reduction amendment by stating, "Payment of the costs
associated with reducing class size to meet these requirements is the
responsibility of the state and not of local school districts."
As an example of how poorly funded public education is in our state,
Florida is one of only three states ineligible for the federal
stimulus package signed last week by President Obama.
Due to drastic reductions in education funding during the last two
years, Florida will need to submit a waiver in hopes of qualifying for stabilization funds contained in the package. Certainly, the current economic status of both the state and nation is having an impact on education as a whole, but this crisis has been a
long time coming for public K-12 schools. Additional revenues should not be
off the table in addressing this critical issue.
Our legislators need to stand up for the children of Brevard, as
well as all of Florida, before it's too late.
As Winston Churchill once said "It is no use saying, 'We are doing
our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."
Judy Preston is associate superintendent for financial services for Brevard Public Schools.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090226/OPINION/90225026/-1/SEVENDAYS

Budget cuts affect school maintenance. While it's hard to quantify the quality of a facility as it affects the educational process, studies show that a poor-quality learning
environment has a negative effect on student performance as well as teachers and
staff. We also have a responsibility to the taxpayers of Brevard to
maintain our facilities to the highest standards possible.

Over the past 10 years, this district has embarked on an aggressive
$700 million capital improvement program. While we still have a continuous
backlog of capital needs, our schools are in the best shape ever.

This district has grown from approximately 9,000,000 square feet in
2000 to what will be 12,000,000 by the end of 2009, a 33 percent increase.
At an average replacement cost of $150 per square foot, our real-estate
holdings equate to $1.8 billion.

The maintenance staff, on the other hand, has been reduced by 19
percent in the same time frame. In summary, we have 52 percent less support
per square foot than we did in 2000, and additional cuts are on the
horizon.

Failure to maintain our facilities adequately can undo the previous
10 years of upgrades and have a negative impact on the district's future
capital budget.

When considering negative effects on education due to funding
shortfalls, don't forget to include the facilities. They are an integral part of
the teaching and learning environment.

Walt Petters
Director
Maintenance and Operations/
Facilities Services
Brevard Public Schools

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The March 1, 2009 Florida Today Letters to the Editor giving
opinions on the Feb. 23, 2009 meeting at the King Center are all one sided.
Someone should have realized the meeting was staged. Granted the legislative
delegation was not prepared but the questions asked were from people
that have little knowledge of what is going on in the school district.
Only one question was on privatization. The answer I believe came
from a school board member and was false. Food services is not self
supporting if personnel and equipment are factored in.Privatization of several other functions could bring bigger savings. Custodial about $10 million for example.
As for construction the district should have gone to modular two decades
ago to save about $300 million. If they had the districts debt would
not be over $1 BILLION for 25 years and all schools would be constructed to
withstand stronger storms. No one asked if our finances are being handled efficiently?
Showing contempt for taxpayers the school board meeting agenda the
next night Feb. 24th had item #28. The superintendent recommended approval
of a RAN, (Revenue Anticipation Note), in the amount of $39 million and to
add another $12.375 million from local tax levy a total of $51,375,000.
These funds will be used to pay the RAN issued last year that comes due in
April. This will amount to 17.74% of the 2008 locally generated tax revenue
of the operating budget 86% of which is used to pay salaries.
The school board can and has borrowed millions without voter
approval or accountability.
Bob
Cocoa, FL

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The following are some notes and graphs from Roger. While the
budgeted 2007/08 and budgeted revenues for 2008/09 may have been reduced, it is clear the funding levels are well above what they had just a few short years ago.

The following information is based on the adopted budgets of the
Brevard County School Board (http://www.brevard.k12.fl.us/portals/aboutus/).
Budgets are a representation of management and are NOT actual
results. I would prefer to use data from the Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report (CAFR), however, I cannot readily find the CAFRs.
Regardless, using the School Board's budget information, I have
prepared the following:
Budgeted revenues EXCLUDE, 1) Transfers In, Nonrevenue Sources, and
Fund Balance Carry forwards. According to the budget, these are "Revenues."

This is probably the most startling chart. Considering that every other meaningful economic measure for Brevard County has fallen to levels not seen in years, the School Board is going to other way....in a BIG way.

For comparative purposes, consider the following.
The discussion of local government MUST be kept in context with the
local economy.

Important Meeting Tonight

2009-02-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

Show your support for our schools. Go to the Town Hall Meeting tonight at 7:00pm-9:00pm at the King Center in Melbourne. Bring your lawn chairs! We are hoping for a packed house!