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Highlands Today

School District, SFCC Keep Eye On State Budget Ax

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Declining enrollment in Highlands County along with proposed funding cuts from the Special Legislative session will likely mean a loss of about 3.3 million in state funding for the School Board of Highlands County.

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: January 8, 2009

SEBRING - As Legislators aim to cut $600 million in state education funding, the School Board of Highlands County and South Florida Community College are looking at additional spending cuts that would not compromise student education.

House and Senate budget committees have proposed similar bills that would cut education funding significantly this school year, including $467 million to K-12 districts and $43.5 million from community colleges.

Under the House proposal, the School Board of Highlands County would lose $1.686 million.

"That's a lot less than we thought it was going to be," said Mike Averyt, school board assistant superintendent of business operations.

In December, it appeared the district was to get $1.93 million less, along with a 2-percent cut in the special session, Averyt said.

Discussions at the two-week special session, which started Monday, are preliminary right now and the actual budget cuts will be known closer to the end of the session, Averyt added.

However, in the end, the district may have to cut about $3.3 million from the current budget, Averyt said.

Along with any cuts that come about in the special session, the district will receive about $1.8 million less due to declining student enrollment.

Averyt does not see an immediate budget crisis despite the anticipated shortfall.

The school district is hoping to rely on unspent money at the end of each budget year, which is carried over to the next year.

Right now the district's revenues are higher than its expenditures, so if the books were closed now, the district would have a budget surplus, Averyt said.

The district had a surplus (fund balance) at the start of the 2007-08 fiscal year

"We don't anticipate using up all our fund balance to take care of this deficit," Averyt said, "we want some fund balance to be able to handle next year's shortfall as well."

A funding cut in the middle of the year is challenging because 85 percent of the district's budget is salary and benefits, he said. With employees under contract, you can't cut people in the middle of the school year.

So to cut the budget, you have to find non-reoccurring expenses or fill positions with substitutes or not fill them at all, he said.

Next year, if the state doesn't increase funding, the district will have to find reoccurring expenditures to cut and that's "salary and benefits," Averyt said.

The district is considering various measures to cut costs, including changing the class scheduling at middle and high schools to reduce the number teachers on staff.

South Florida Community College has been tightening its budget by not filling positions that have become vacant due to retirements or resignations whenever possible and reducing the funds available for physical plant maintenance, capital equipment and software

"We are waiting to see what is going on with the legislative groups during the special session to what our impact," will be, said SFCC Vice President of Administrative Services Glenn Little. "It looks like we are going to see a 4 percent reduction in most of our programs.

"In the meantime we've just tried to be responsible with our budget with the understanding that we are probably going to see a reduction."

In a statement from the SFCC Web site, college President Norm Stephens said "a budget reduction of more than 4 percent in state revenues with continuing enrollment growth will certainly force deeper cuts, including potential program reductions, the use of more adjunct instructors and other professional staff to cover classes, a hiring freeze for all positions, possible closings of community instructional sites and reductions in student support services."

Highlands Today reporter Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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