Schools likely to face cuts

Board hears bad news from finance chief

A recently passed sales tax won’t help Palm Beach County schools avoid what could be several years of budget cuts, district officials said Wednesday.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Burke told the school board Wednesday that he’s not optimistic about funding from Tallahassee for the next three years. He said that for the first time since 2010, the state will go into the year with a projected budget deficit as expenses will likely exceed revenue.

“It looks like we’ll be getting by with less each year, and we never really recovered from the recession,” Burke said.

No proposed cuts were suggested, but district officials outlined some priorities for funding. These in-

clude maintaining a safe, secure school environment, establishing a reserve for employee raises, improving the academic performance of special-needs and limited-English proficiency students, and complying with all laws, including limits on class size.

County voters in November approved a 1-cent sales tax, half of which will go to the school district. That’s expected to provide $1.4 billion to the district over the next decade. But the money will have to go to the capital budget for construction projects, maintenance, buses and technology, officials said. The money can’t be used for operating expenses, such as employee salaries, academic materials and utilities.

“Unfortunately, it does very little to help the operating budget,” Burke said. “The only way it will help is that as we upgrade our facilities and make them more energy-efficient, it will reduce our operating costs. Our operating revenue is really dependent on what happens in Tallahassee.”

Burke said that even if the district receives a 1 percent increase, which is what it received last year, that would result in a shortfall of more than $1.3 million due to inflation.

Gov. Rick Scott has instructed all agencies, including the Florida Department of Education, to propose cuts of 10 percent, Burke said.

“We’re hoping that’s not where we’ll end up, but I know there’s an interest in doing tax cuts and funding other priorities,” Burke said. “We will need to advocate for adequate funding this year.”

Several board members said one solution would be to keep more students in district-run schools instead of charter schools.

“We need to find a way to market our schools better,” school board member Marcia Andrews said. “The charter schools are marketing all the time. We need to get back to some real intensive marketing to get our kids back to our school district.”

District officials said they are already doing that and saw more growth in district schools than charter schools this school year.