Brevard Parents Action Committee is submitting our second position paper on Brevard Public Schools financial policy. The topic of our first paper was our position on the 1/2 cent sales tax - VOTE NO. Here is why: Brevard Public Schools does not have a long term financial plan. Our paper charges the superintendent, school board members, and the administrative staff with providing a conservative, long term financial plan for Brevard County schools. Read more here: BPS Does Not Have a Plan for Our Schools Simply stated, the problem with Brevard Public Schools (BPS) is that it does not have a sound financial plan put together, at least not any plan for the long term. They seem to be floundering about, looking for short term solutions to long term problems. Maybe if they manage to stay afloat long enough, eventually the recession will be over, property tax revenues will increase, state funding will increase and they will have survived their latest in a string of proclaimed crises. Even with increases in state funding in the last two years topping off an overall budget that has returned to the record highs of 2006-2007, Brevard Public Schools needs more money. What is the biggest indicator to the public that there is no plan? BPS staff is now on round two of asking for a sales tax referendum. Brevard County taxpayers were told two years ago that public schools were desperate for a half cent sales tax increase. Since the referendum did not pass, $25 million in cuts had to be made, cuts which included closing three schools. These are year over year recurring budget cuts that took the place of sales tax revenue. The problem should have been solved, but apparently it was not. For the past few months, Brevard Public Schools has been hosting community forums to educate taxpayers of potential cuts and long neglected capital improvement needs. Additional discussion brought out the need for passing the half cent sales tax referendum or students and parents would suffer further cuts, including closing more schools. Frankly, this redundancy is confusing. It would seem that the budget cuts and state revenue enhancements did not do their job, but the reality is that it was only a temporary, short term fix. So why do we need more money and/or more cuts? Brevard Public Schools is not having a new crisis, nor a new deficit. Hypothetically, if the sales tax had passed in 2012, wed now be discussing the massive cuts that were dealt with back then. We need more money and more cuts for one reason - the administration of BPS is incapable of looking into the future and planning appropriately. There is evidence that Brevard Public Schools is required to plan for the future. The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) requires a Facilities Work Plan that projects facilities planning for five, ten, and twenty years. While BPS dutifully fills out this form, they never seem to use it as an actual tool for their own internal planning. Going back just four years to the 2009-2010 school year, we can see that BPS was planning on adding 20 classrooms (10 in the south area and 10 in the central area). for school year 2011-2012. The following year, this plan got pushed back to the 2013-2014 school year. These plans were listed as funded for a total of five million dollars. In 2011-2012 BPS did not include any project schedules in the work plan. Just for the last two years, a different plan has been put into place: BPS will build two whole new schools, five years out, at a cost of $40 million. Unfortunately, this new plan is not funded. In other words, they Don’t appear to have a clue as to how they will accomplish this goal. Maybe the money will come by collecting more impact fees or by using the sales tax revenue or by closing down more schools? Where did the previous funding for the previous plan disappear to? Maybe it didnt really exist at all? The lack of Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funds available from the state and insufficient monies for capital improvements has been a point of focus in promoting the ½ cent sales tax for 2014. Yet despite having a school facility on-site coordinator at each school, School Advisory Counsel (SACs) and an entire Plant Operations and Maintenance Department operating year round, taxpayers have waited over eight months for a prioritized list of necessary capital improvements for Brevard Public Schools. The prioritized list of repairs districtwide will cost taxpayers $25K and will be produced by a consulting firm. Could BPS improve their ability to do projections for capital improvements and budgeting? The simple answer is yes. Estimates of property value are produced by the Brevard County Property Appraiser and are submitted to BPS and local municipalities in May. The Florida State legislative session also ends in May with school funding well publicized. BPS also receives federal monies and specialized grant funding, most of which is predetermined or is known well in advance of the school year. Brevard Public Schools has the capability each June-July of doing conservative budget projections. Yet they do not seem to have the administrative staff capable of performing conservative projections, much less overseeing the management of what is now over a $700 million budget (2014-2015 school year). Consistently the real crisis in public schools is never a funding problem. The real crisis is a spending problem. Is BPS in financial trouble? Yes Does BPS need that ½ cent sales tax? Yes But that is not what is at issue here. The issue is the fact that the same people that put BPS in financial trouble are the same ones who will be spending the ½ cent sales tax revenue. The same people who have been spending and borrowing excessively are still in place at BPS and will continue their well-established pattern of behavior. Among other things, the Brevard County taxpayers need a definitive, long term financial plan from Brevard Public Schools. A long term planning strategy coupled with accurate, conservative budget projections should include strategic planning for maintenance of all school owned properties and buildings. A long term planning strategy should include a sufficient reserve in the operating and capital outlay funds that would allow for the complete elimination of RANs (Revenue Anticipated Notes) and TANs (Tax Anticipated Notes). In other words, there should be no borrowing against anticipated revenue. A long term planning strategy should also include a set schedule and reserve funding for debt service with the goal of ultimately eliminating the $500 million in debt that Brevard Public Schools currently owes. We need to be able to trust that they will follow through on that plan with transparency and accountability. The current administration, accepting the status quo backed by the current school board members who do no more than rubber stamp poor policy is not the way to accomplish this. Below are direct links to the BPS Facilities Work Plans. Information referenced above can be found on page 8 of the plans. 2013-2014 BPS Work Plan 2012-2013 BPS Work Plan 2011-2012 BPS Work Plan 2010-2011 BPS Work Plan 2009-2010 BPS Work Plan
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 23:28:34 +0000
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