BY DAN HILDEBRAN
The finance director for the Union County School District said the state reduced its estimate of what the district will receive in state funding by nearly $671,000 resulting from the district’s third calculation of full-time equivalents compared to the second calculation.
Florida’s Department of Education reimburses public school districts based on the number of students each district serves and surveys student populations throughout the year. The first survey was taken in July, the second was in October, the third was in February, and the fourth will be in June.
Finance Director Renee Prevatt told school board members during their March meeting that, due to the February survey, the state forecasted that the district would receive $670,887 less in state funding than after the October survey.
At the end of last year, board members approved a package of budget cuts that resulted in $831,623 of savings. Those cuts included reducing district-paid employee benefits, eliminating a cellphone stipend for some district employees, ending a contract completion supplement for non-instructional workers, and ceasing operations of the district-owned daycare.
Board Member Becky Raulerson told her colleagues that the drop in state funding for public school districts reflects the legislature’s strategy to improve school choice for parents and make state funding available to alternatives. She added that larger school districts have borne the brunt of that strategy up to now, but now Union County schools are facing the new challenge.
“This is why public schools started selling themselves,” she said. “We never had to do that. We’re the Tigers, right? We’re this awesome school district.”
The school board member added that, through no fault of the administration, she hears complaints from unhappy teachers that could also dampen enthusiasm and enrollment for the district.
“I go to the gym with unhappy teachers, and they complain about this, and they complain about that,” she continued. “Who wants to send their kid to school with a teacher that’s unhappy about everything?”
