Manatee County Schools Budget Cuts

By ADAM EMERSON
The Tampa Tribune
February 25, 2009

While Florida´s governor eagerly touts the benefits that a stimulus of federal money would have on public education, area school leaders are saying, not so fast.

During a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press, Gov. Charlie Crist told NBC moderator David Gregory that, with the school stimulus package, “we´ll be able to pay our teachers more next year than we were this past year.”

Crist also has relied heavily on the stimulus money when crafting the budget for Florida´s schools. But Hillsborough County school administrators and school board members have warned it won´t be enough to stop budget cuts.

Under the stimulus plan, Hillsborough County schools would receive $38.9 million for economically needy students and $44 million for special education. Another, more substantial pot of money would “stabilize” schools, but superintendents don´t yet know how the state would divvy up that money.

While they aren´t questioning the benefits that are known, school leaders are cautious about their total impact.

“It will be a great help,” Hillsborough schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said of the stimulus money. “But it is not going to offset cuts we´ve already experienced.”

In the past two years, the Hillsborough school district has cut $82.2 million. State Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith warned superintendents two weeks ago that, based on a reduction of tax revenues, they may have to cut as much as 15 percent in the next fiscal year. For Hillsborough County, that´s about $196 million.

State economists are expected to release their darkest forecast of the state budget when they meet in mid-March.

With such a gloomy picture, some school board members are worried about the rosy message Crist is delivering.

Hillsborough school board Vice Chairwoman Susan Valdes said she fired off an e-mail to Crist with concerns about his comments on the Sunday talk-show circuit. She said she didn´t receive a reply.

“We have to understand these are nonrecurring dollars,” Valdes said. “For us to say we´re putting money in teachers´ pockets is very difficult.”

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