Out of control spending must be reigned in. There IS a limit to what we can afford.
Presented to Sarasota REC meeting January 14th 2009
Presented to Sarasota REC meeting January 14 , 2009 By Walt Augustinowicz Policyy Committee Chairman You can contact me at [email protected]
How
much
is
enough?
– Per
Budget
In 2008‐2009 Sarasota County Schools appropriations
budget was a whopping
$23,104
per student
according to the 2008/2009 Budget Facts published by
the school board in October 2008.
According to the fact sheet total budgeted
i i
$
million
f h lappropriations were
$944.55
million
for the actualTotal Spending
How
much
is
enough?
– Updated
Per
Actual
In 2008‐2009 Sarasota County Schools actual
appropriations was a huge
$13,882
per student according
to the updatedp figuresg providedp to us byy the school admin
office this week.
According to the sheet total appropriations were
$574 54
According to the sheet total appropriations were
$574.54
million
for the actual total student enrollment of41,389
. Due to update we should amend line in resolution 1 to
match this new number.
How
much
is
enough?
In 2009‐2010 the Sarasota County Schools
appropriations budget is
$18,875
per student
according to recap sheet school admin office sent us
this week.
Charlotte County’s total appropriations budget is
$12 735* per student
$12,735 per student.
Budget
Data
from
School
Admin
How
does
that
compare
to
private
school?
The averageg tuition of ten p ppopular privatep schools in
Sarasota county is $6884 (inclusive of registration and annual fees.)
Tuition Comparison $12,000 $14,000 $16,000 $18,000 $20,000 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 $0 ,
Raw
Data
on
School
Tuition
Private School Price Review
Name Tuition Source
Heritage Christian Academy $4,786 Website S Ch i i A d $4 300 C ll d Suncoast Christian Academy $4,300 Called Sarasota Christian School $8,325 Called Venice Christian School $4,887 Website Saint Martha School $6,170 Webite
Cardinal Mooney $7 875 Website Adopt a student form Cardinal Mooney $7,875 Website Adopt a student form Epiphan Cathedral School $6,475 Website
Incarnation Catholic School $6,330 Website The Tabernacle Christian School $6,050 Website New Gate School $13,640 Website
Out of Door Academy never could get through always a voicemail (941) 349‐3223
Average $6,884
Where there were multiple price tiers for different grades we used the middle shool tier Where there were multiple price tiers for different grades we used the middle shool tier.
These were prices for 1 student. Most had discounts for 2 or more. We included annual fees and registration cost if provided by schools
The
school
systems
says
we
should
only count the general fund when
only
count
the
general
fund
when
calculating
per
student
costs.
That is an invalid premise.
Do you not count your mortgage payment when working
on you household budget?
Accountants would tell you to at least amortize the
expenses over 30 years. We have 42 schools, if we only
b ild t t th i th di thi t
rebuild 1 to 2 a year at the price they are spending this type
D
h l ?
Does
more
money
help?
The answer is NO
FCAT
The answer is NO. Florida Department of Education statistics on 10th
graders’ FCAT scores show graders FCAT scores show Charlotte county has gone up in Reading, Math, and Writing while Sarasota has dropped in Reading and Writing since the Reading and Writing since the tax increase was first passed in 2002. Charlotte does this without a the extra tax.
Keep in mind Charlotte
County’s budget is also $12K per student not $19K and they are equal or better than
are equal or better than
Sarasota in Math and Writing.
Data obtained through http://fcat.fldoe.org/results/default.asp
Where
is
the
money
going?
A l i f h l b d i b i d
A large portion of the annual budget is being used to
level our current schools and rebuild extravagant new
smaller schools.
We can’t afford to do this in our current economy.
Even the Florida Legislature thinks we are spending
too much on our schools too much on our schools.
Wh t d
th St t
f Fl id thi k th
What
does
the
State
of
Florida
think
the
maximum
cost
of
construction
of
schools
should
be?
TITLETITLE XLVIIIXLVIII ChapterChapter 1013.641013.64 setssets thethe maximummaximum
schools should spend per station if expecting help
from the state under PECO.
6. Upon construction, the total cost per student
t ti i l di h d t t d th
station, including change orders, must not exceed the
cost per student station as provided in subsection (6).
For Jan 2010 that amount is $27,282 per station.
Venice
High
School
illi
b ild
$91
million
to
rebuild
Currently 70% occupied
New school will be 27% smaller
New school will be 27% smaller.
Cost of $45,614 per student station!
Remember that state has calculated it should cost no more
than $27 282 per station than $27,282 per station
*Facts and figures obtained from school board 5 year capital work plan
Booker
High
School
$58
million
to
rebuild
$58
million
to
rebuild
Currently 54% occupied
New school will be 43% smaller.
Cost of $47,300 per student station!
Remember that state has calculated it should cost no more
than $27,282 per station
*F d fi b i d f h l b d i l k l
*Facts and figures obtained from school board 5 year capital work plan
http://www.sarasotacountyschools.net/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=15894
SCTI
$54
million
to
rebuild
Currently 18% occupied!
New school will be 32% smaller
New school will be 32% smaller.
Cost of $43,269 per student station!
When complete school board estimates that even by 2014 it
will still only be 24% full. will still only be 24% full.
Cost based on actual projected use is $180,000 per student
station!
Remember that state has calculated it should cost no more
than $27,282 per station
*Facts and figures obtained from school board 5 year capital work plan
Our
Schools
are
Half
Empty
Maybe we should lease the space to charter schools?
Total
16 *Facts and figures obtained from school board 5 year capital work plan
http://www.sarasotacountyschools.net/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=15894
Why
can’t
we
vote
down
the
school bonds?
school
bonds?
The Florida Constitution Article VII Section 12
The Florida Constitution Article VII Section 12
requires bonds to be approved by a vote of the electors.
Sarasota County in 1990 invented a scheme called a
certificate of participation to bypass this vote.
Our current school board members are ALSO
Certificates
of
Participation
(COPs)
School board signs a lease agreement with Dummy corp leases buildings back to school agreement with dummy corp. back to school boardSchool board sells
Superintendent School board sells
bonds called COPs
to pay to build
school Superintendent
promises to put
line in the budget
to pay the lease school
to pay the lease.
Sarasota
County
Lawsuit
Because this was a blatant attempt to avoid a vote by
the people a suit was filed against Sarasota County.
It went all the way to the Florida Supreme Court.
In a narrow vote it was deemed technically legal.
NO. 74,979
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant, vs .
SCHOOL BOARD OF SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OF SARASOTA COUNTY, Appellee.
Dissenting
Supreme
Court
Judges
Opinion
“Today the Court approves form over substance. The
financial schemes employed in these cases are the
financial schemes employed in these cases are the
equivalent to the issuance of bonds and pledging ad
valorem taxes to support them. Thus, I totally disagree
h h b d i i b d i h
that the bonds in question can be approved without a
referendum from the owners of freeholds as required
byy article VII, section 12 of the Florida Constitution. I
believe it pure sophistry to say that "these obligations
are not supported by the pledge of ad valorem
taxation.";
taxation. ;
Lease
t
agreement
st f l
1st page of lease….
•Can be found at http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/Agenda1/February%2017,%202009%20Board%20
•Meeting%20on%20Tuesday,%20February%2017,%202009/6F6E8658‐886C‐467D‐AA65‐C64F88BD787C.pdf
Martin
County
Funding
Workshop
Unfortunately other counties are now copying Sarasota. In the minutes for a Martin County funding workshop you In the minutes for a Martin County funding workshop you
can read the following…
“Bob Nabors gave the legal background and provided an
analysis of the Florida case law upholding the issuance by
school districts of Certificates of Participationp (COP) and
lease purchase financings without elector approval by
referendum under the Florida Constitution. COPs have
now become the most utilized structure forf financingf g
And
don’t
forget
School
Board
Pay
You will note from the budget below that salary and
benefits for a school board member…
$339,626 ÷ 5 =
$67,925
each!
It
is
time
to
send
a
message
There are limits to what we tax payers can afford.
Find other ways to improve schooling.
Research what other municipalities with better schools
and less funding are doing. Look outside of Florida.
