Florida school

State formula shifts more money to wealthier districts

officials are sniping over a funding formula that shifts money from 55 less affluent districts to wealthier ones — including some on both sides of the equation in Central Florida.

The Lake, Osceola and Seminole school districts have lost out on a total of $133 million in state funding to wealthier districts in the past 13 years.

The reshuffling of money is part of Florida’s education finance system — and some officials are sick of it.

“This is backwards Robin Hood — you’re robbing from the average and the poor to give to the wealthy,” said Volusia County School Board member Melody Johnson, whose district is losing $10 million for the upcoming school year. “I call it theft.”

Florida’s “district cost differential” takes several pennies from each dollar raised by 55 school systems in the state and redistributes it to a dozen other school systems with higher costs of living, which increases the cost of education, including Orange County.

Since 2004, the funding formula has resulted in a shift of at least $1.7 billion to more affluent districts.

Defenders say it provides equity to counties including Orange, Broward and Sarasota, where school-district salaries are higher because of the pricier cost of living. The current formula “wasn’t intended to punish any particular district” but to reflect greater personnel costs in the dozen districts, said Ruth Melton, director of advocacy services at Florida School Boards Association.

The association, which represents school boards that both benefit from or are financially disadvantaged by the formula, seeks to remain neutral on the issue.

But Johnson, whose county is worst hit by the practice, said the cost-of-living adjustment is unfair. She is driving around the state in an effort to gain support from school boards negatively affected by it.

Her goal is simple: to get a full dollar back from every dollar that school districts are due. Lake gets 97.4 cents for every dollar it has coming from the state.

“I heard I was going to be among friends,” said Johnson, speaking to Lake School Board members earlier this month. “You guys have lost $57 million since this went into place, and it’s making me angry.”