Schools' needs exceed the district's wallet

The Manatee County School District's current financial forecast is cloudy with 100% chance of rain.

Although the district has balanced its budget and climbed out of a more than $8 million hole, its needs far exceed its financial capabilities at this point, Superintendent Rick Mills said.

"Education is underfunded in this state," Mills said at a meeting with School Board Chairman Bob Gause, Deputy Superintendent of Operations Don Hall and CFO Rebecca Roberts, April 7. "Our current revenue isn't sufficient to meet our needs as a district. We don't have money to do things we really need to do."

To fund the district's range of needs, such as hiring one full-time substitute teacher per school, purchasing more buses and emergency walkie talkie systems for district officials and implementing Student Resource Officers (SROs) for county elementary schools, officials circled revenue options in the form of millage increases and the renewal of the sales tax levy, which is set to expire in 2017.

Should the sales tax bill expire, it will cost the district $30 million per year in losses, documents cited.

"If we let the sales tax expire, and we don't find other ways to make money for our district, these numbers won't tell a positive story," Roberts said.

Both options will require voter approval, and won't be implemented until 2017, Roberts estimated.

A full 1 mil. increase and budget cuts are necessary to balance the budget for fiscal year 2016, she added. Although district officials didn't comment on what types of "hard spending cuts" are in the district's future, should it fund the more than $42 million in operating needs.

But, Hall promised that the district will end the 2015-2016 school year with a balanced budget. Deficit will hit the district harder in 2017, he expects, if additional moneymaking methods aren't found.

Based on current operational needs, if the school district doesn't change anything and lets the sales tax expire, it will exceed its revenue by $62 million per year for the next four years, Roberts said.

District officials hope to work with their community to pass the sales tax and increase the millage to also fund larger projects, such as constructing an elementary, middle and high school in northern parts of the county and likely in East County.

Construction on the schools wouldn't start until at least 2018, Mills said.

Other discussion highlights include:

The school district has deferred maintenance on capital projects for four years.

Officials anticipate 800 students to join the school district annually over the next four year, totaling 2,400 new students.

If no new debt is issued, the district will pay off all debt obligations by 2031.

For the full story, pick up a copy of the April 16 issue of the East County Observer.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].