Schools Take New Budget Hit

By ADAM EMERSON
The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 15, 2008

TAMPA - As Hillsborough County school administrators weigh how to cut millions from their budget, they dropped more bad news Wednesday: The Legislature cut 15 percent of the money paid to schools that perform well on the state's report card.

Schools that earn an A or improve a letter grade from the previous year now will receive $85 per student, down from $100. That means qualified schools will lose thousands of dollars paid in teacher bonuses and equipment.

The news comes as the district prepares to make up a $42.4 million loss in state revenue for the 2008-09 fiscal year. The Legislature is reducing much of the aid to school districts and colleges throughout Florida after tumbling tax collections left a $4 billion hole in the state budget.

The Hillsborough school district has proposed an initial cut of about $15.3 million to help balance the loss of state money. But those cuts are just the start, said Gretchen Saunders, the district's budget director.

“We continue every minute of every day to look at the budget numbers,” Saunders said.

The district and the school board have tried to keep the cuts away from the classroom, and their earliest ideas cut money mostly from eliminating vacant positions and cutting back on equipment and software upgrades.

The worsening outlook, however, means the cuts will reach instruction. The drop in state revenue, for instance, includes a $500,000 loss in instructional materials, and a $1.9 million cut in supplemental instruction, which includes after-school tutoring and summer school.

The $42.4 million revenue loss likely will grow with another state cut anticipated in the middle of the year, possibly after November's election, Saunders said.

“Classrooms are going to be affected,” board member Jack Lamb said. “But we're going to try to keep it to a minimum.”

The recognition money comes from the same pot that pays teachers who use their own money for supplies. That reimbursement also will drop, from $250 to $200 per teacher.

To note how much the loss in school recognition money will affect schools, Saunders showed what would happen to Riverview High School if it scored an A this year, as it had last year.

The school, with 2,267 students, received $226,738 in recognition money this school year. Next year's calculation would take its award to $192,695, a $34,043 loss.

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