Public helps set school district budget priorities

EAST COUNTY — Former Manatee County School District administrators compounded a burgeoning budget deficit for the 2011-12 fiscal year by responding slowly to problems.

In late October, the new administration, led by Superintendent Rick Mills, revealed a $3.9 million adjustment to the 2013-14 fiscal year budget to the school board and public — days after discovering the unbudgeted costs.

Although both situations represent errors, school board members rushed to the defense of Mills and his new leadership team, appreciating the timely response and admission of culpability.

In its latest attempt to provide transparency, a theme the district has tried hard to act on, Mills and his reorganized team held a series of meetings at schools this month, intended to gather input from the community about what the district’s budget priorities should be for 2014-15.

At each Citizens Budget Advisory Committee meeting, including one Nov. 19 at Lakewood Ranch High School, administrators dispensed written surveys, which asked parents and students to prioritize programs, activities and educational indicators that matter to them.

Questions ranged from big picture — How important is teacher effectiveness? How important is class size? — to the specific — How important are elective programs, such as visual and performing arts? How important is online education?

Administrators will use survey results to set goals for the district’s five-year strategic plan, which will span 2014 to 2019.

The strategic plan will guide how the district funds its budget.

In January, the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee will report results from the surveys to the school board.

“We’re not going to fund things the community doesn’t want,” said Robert Johnson, the district’s director of planning and performance management, a new position created under Mills. “The superintendent is very serious about involving the community. We want feedback at every level of the decision-making process. The priorities from the community will literally drive what we do.”

District staff has been working on next year’s budget since July, the same time the school board tentatively approved this year’s budget.

A year-plus head start on the budget process is typical of a responsible school district, Johnson said.
The urgency intensified because of the district’s late start for fiscal year 2013-2014.

From the day Mills began work eight months ago, his staff scrambled to build safeguards that would prevent repeats in previous budget errors by installing budget controls. Changes in administration and efforts to create a budget from scratch resulted in the the district being about seven months behind in the budget process. The school board ultimately adopted its $568.3 million budget Sept. 9, submitting it in a line-item format on the district’s website, with costs listed for every department.

By hearing from its constituents early and often — at budget meetings this month that also occurred at Harllee, Buffalo Creek and Lincoln middle schools and G.D. Rodgers Elementary — the district aims to create trust.

“If you make the public feel comfortable, you can get buy-in,” said Johnson, who led the meetings. “Public support would allow us to boost the millage rate (property taxes) and do other things so we have money to pay for their needs and wants.”

At the Nov. 19 budget meeting at Lakewood Ranch, which drew about 15 people, Bridget Mendel, a parent of one student at Braden River and two others at Haile Middle School, said her priorities were teacher retention and school security.

She called Haile “shorthanded” and “second-class citizens,” in reference to crowded classrooms and inaccurate enrollment projections at the school.

Mendel’s criticisms were pointed, but she appreciated Johnson’s response — and his vow to value her concerns.

“We understand there are some staffing and capacity issues this year, and we all understand the financial issues this district has,” Johnson said. “We hear the pain across the district. Right now, we can still meet the needs of students. We won’t exceed those needs until we save money.”

As the meeting closed and attendees walked out, Mendel lingered behind.

Mendel, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher, shared stories about Chicago’s south side with Johnson, who grew up there.

“You will love the plan, I promise you,” Johnson told Mendel. “Our superintendent has no qualms saying this will be a top district in Florida.”

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected]