School Seek Reserve Funds

Article published Apr 23, 2008

TALLAHASSEE The sun was shining but the teachers carried black umbrellas, a sign, they said, of a pending downpour threatening Florida´s public schools.

Facing the deepest budget cuts in decades, dozens of teachers and other educators gathered Tuesday in front of the Capitol and delivered their plea to lawmakers: open the state´s savings accounts to prevent layoffs and program cuts.

“If this isn´t a time to dip into your reserve funds, then when is it?” asked Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association teachers union, who wore a sticker with a hurricane symbol on his lapel.

With two weeks left to set the state budget, lawmakers have refused to tap the $4.5 billion remaining in the state´s savings accounts to avoid planned school funding cuts.

Unless close to $1 billion is found, Florida next year will reduce per-pupil spending for the first time in more than 30 years.

Lawmakers already have decided to give schools $300million from one savings account, but taking $1 billion from savings to pay for part of an operating budget would be unprecedented.

The state has four main sources of reserves. The Budget Stabilization Fund, which has about $1.4 billion in it, is an account voters determined could be used only in an emergency, such as a natural disaster. Lawmakers have to replenish it every five years if they take from it.

The Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund is a $2.4 billion account set up after the former governor won a settlement from tobacco companies. Interest generated from the endowment is used to fund child welfare and health programs. Draining the endowment of its principal would limit its ability to provide anti-smoking and other health programs in the future.

The rest of the state´s reserves -- less than $1 billion -- sit in various trust funds and are supposed to be used for capital projects such as road building.

Also, the state builds extra money into its budget to protect it from the possibility of an incorrect revenue estimate. Only about $400 million remains in “unallocated revenue.” Lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would give the governor authority to tap the reserves if that cushion dips below $200 million.

House Speaker Marco Rubio, echoing the majority of Republican lawmakers, said raiding the funds would be imprudent, since a real emergency could arise.

But Ford, head of the teachers union, said an emergency is facing Florida´s schools.

“Speaker Rubio is definitely wrong,” Ford said. “He has a responsibility to the citizens of the state of Florida to fund the services, and we have money sitting in the bank.”

Neither Rubio nor Senate President Ken Pruitt are making moves to reconsider withdrawing from the accounts.

And when House budget Chairman Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, heard the teachers wanted $1 billion from savings, he chided them.

“To some, it´s never enough,” Sansom said. “If I were in the education system, I would feel like the Legislature made education the highest priority this session.”

Among state leaders, only Gov. Charlie Crist supports using the funds -- and whether he will put his political clout more strongly behind such a move remains unclear. Democrats, who are in the minority, also advocate tapping the savings.

“Anything´s possible,” Crist said Tuesday. “We´ve got nine days to do what´s right.”

His recommended education budget included using almost $600 million from the savings accounts. And his aides say he has been meeting privately with lawmakers about education spending.

But so far his requests have had little effect. Educators at the rally said they wished he would do more and take a more public leadership position on the issue.

Ford said Crist was invited to the rally, but Crist said he was unaware of it.

The teachers chanted, “It´s time to take a stand!”

To at least one teacher at the rally, Crist´s promise to fund education has become more grating than reassuring.

“I´m having a hard time deciding if I still like the man,” said Chris Ott, a kindergarten teacher in Alachua County. “You tell them what they want, you smile, you have that positive outlook and a nice tan, and everybody says ‘Great!’”

“I´m being told he´s listening, but I have a feeling he´s listening to everybody, and his party isn´t listening to him. I think he´s got the political capital to make this happen. He´s very popular. He should step up to the plate.”

Staff writer Carol E. Lee contributed to this report.