Public Hearing on $1 Billion School Budget Passes with no Comments

When Pasco County School Board Chairwoman Joanne Hurley opened the public hearing on the district’s proposed $1 billion budget for the 2011-12 academic year, you could have heard a pin drop.

No one from the public turned out Aug. 2 to ask questions or make comments on the budget, which covers operational, construction and maintenance expenses for the upcoming year. The budget represents a total decrease of $63,397,681 compared to 2010-11.

“Our budget continues to decrease,” said Superintendent Heather Fiorentino, adding that the proposal may require some amendments to cover “all of the unfunded mandates that the state has provided that we do not know the cost of.”

Fiorentino told board members the budget includes 513 less positions. This, she added, may make it “difficult to meet class size and we may end up with a penalty.”

The proposed budget includes $510 million for the general fund, which covers day-to-day expenses. This is a decrease of more than $13 million from last year. The debt service fund comes in at $60 million, which is an increase of nearly $1.6 million from last. The capital projects fund has decreased. Proposed funding here comes in at $217 million, a drop of more than $20 million from last year.

In addition to the first public hearing on the proposed budget, the school board also approved a resolution adopting a tax millage rate for the year. The total rate proposed by the district is 7.644 mils, which is a decrease of 0.123 from 2010-11. This means property owners will pay $7.644 for every $1,000 in taxable value.

The final public hearing on the proposed budget has been set for Sept. 13 at 6 p.m.

For more information on the budget, visit the district’s website at pasco.k12.fl.us. The proposed budget is available online for public review.