On Monday, the Lake County School Board shot down (for now) the plan for a four-day-school week, which could have saved the Lake County School District $10 million in their budget. The decision was made after hearing the outcry from parents who would face childcare nightmares. Most experts in the education system say that one of the major flaws with the United States education system is that students attend school too few days now. A four-day-school week is yet another step in dumbing-down Lake County students. The question bodes: Why would the Lake County School Board even consider a four-day-school week?
This issue has been tabled because the Lake County School District administration found almost $2 million in labor and organization cuts, and the district anticipates saving $6.3 million in contributions by the district to employee retirement plans, based on recent moves by the legislature. However, these cuts still leave the district $1-$2 million short on their budget. Like many taxpayers, our group is asking why didn’t the district make the $2 million in cuts earlier, and where do they plan on finding the other money?
Governor Rick Scott has been Florida’s Governor for a little more than five months. To hear teachers and school administrators talk, Governor Scott is responsible for the educational mess across the state. Hold on! It’s time for a get real moment. The school funding problem is not the creation of Governor Scott; rather, it has been created by the overspending and mismanagement by schools and political leaders for years.
Everyone needs to understand this major point: Lake County is covering most of its budget shortfall this year because of the $6.3 million Governor Scott and the legislature are collecting from school employees, who will now be required to pay 3 percent into their retirement plans.
The $10 Million Lake County Problem
The Lake County School District is a microcosm for the state on poor planning and overspending. The line given by local school officials and teachers is that the $10 million shortfall is a result of Governor Scott’s cuts in education, but that’s not the real reason.
Since the first of this current school year, Lake County’s student population has declined from 41,016 to 40,635 or 381 fewer students. From the first of the year, the actual number of student stations in Lake County Schools has declined from 52,633 to 51,977 due to modular student stations being eliminated.
As of May 13, 2011, Lake County has 11,342 more student stations than actual students. In other words, the district has 21.8 percent more student stations than students, and that’s despite the mysterious disappearance of 656 modular stations. The problem is many of these student stations were built in areas that didn’t need additional stations. Instead of student population planning, the former board engaged in political planning.
Here is the jaw dropping news: At the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, which is nearly four years ago, the student population for Lake County Schools was 40,625. In almost four years, Lake County has only added 10 students – yes, 10 students.
As a whole, the district is not growing. This remains the most serious problem because much of the school’s funding is based on students in the seats.
Hold your eyeballs in place because here’s the $10 million bad news. The overbuilding of schools, one in particular, is crippling this year’s budget. The new Minneola High School is slated to open on August 22, 2011. This is one grand high school, but there’s one huge problem – where are the new students for the 1,913 student stations? According to School District CFO Carol MacLeod, the yearly operating cost for a school like this is $9.5 million, and the budget for next year is short by how much? Oh, that’s right – it’s short by $10 million!
What the District Says
CFO MacLeod tried to convince us that the actual cost to the district will be minimal. In her email she says, “As the legislative session just ended, we are in the process of finalizing the actual operating budget. However, a typical high school operating budget is approximately $9.5M with approximately $8M of that in staffing costs. For a new school, those staffing costs are offset by reductions in the staffing costs at the high schools where the students are currently enrolled. The additional first year operating costs for opening any new school average approximately $1.5-2M. Those additional funds have been placed in reserve, in anticipation of the school opening.”
The most troubling part of CFO MacLeod’s response is that the district is opening a huge high school in just four months and they do not have a projected operational budget. This tells us there is no real planning in the district and financial decisions are being made up as they go. CFO MacLeod’s answer regarding staffing costs isn’t very plausible because she’d already told us they’re going to use the base staffing plan for an established high school, which requires so many principals, bookkeepers, and support people.
When we questioned her staffing assumptions she emailed back the following statement, “The current estimates are based on actual costs at similar sized high schools and our prior experience opening other schools. For any school district, staffing costs make up approximately 85% of the total operating costs. Most of the school allocation formulas are driven by student enrollment and therefore, the staff moves with the students. You are correct that there is some duplication, such as one new principal, one bookkeeper, a number of janitorial and some support staff. Those are the costs that are considered as those first year additional costs. The actual comparative data will be included with the finalized operating budget.”
CFO MacLeod concedes our point on staffing, and you would have to suspend belief to assume 85 percent of the new high school’s staffing costs will be covered by repositioning staff from surrounding schools. She also confirms that most of the school’s allocations are driven by student enrollment.
The Options
What does all of this really mean? The Lake County School District is opening a school it really does not need, and the district’s budget is being blown by these huge increases in operating expenses. Most Floridians agree that it is correct to require government employees to pay 3 percent into their pension plans. So, the reform that Governor Scott and the legislature passed is saving Lake County schools.
The real issue for Lake County Schools, and their budget mess, is that they’ve overbuilt schools. In addition, the operating budgets are killing them. Right now, Lake County needs to close and consolidate schools in order to eliminate duplications in operating expenses. According to CFO MacLeod, the Minneola High School is fully paid for based on collections of impact fees; however, the yearly operating expenses are not covered.
The issue of a four-day-school week will remain on the table as a budget cutting measure as long as operational costs are duplicated for the same number of students. The choices are limited and very tough. Listed below are some of the choices:
- Go to a four-day-school week to slash hours and wages for all while creating a nightmare for parents, encouraging delinquency, and diminishing quality of education.
- Retool the entire district and dramatically slash pay, budgets, and eliminate most extracurricular programs. Instead of closing schools, slash personnel in all schools to match the head counts (as if you closed schools).
- Close schools, consolidate students, go to expanded school days with possible shifts, and reduce staff accordingly. This option should have been used instead of the massive building project. Anyone who operates facilities understands the productivity and cost reductions are only realized the longer it is operated daily.
- Do everything to encourage economic growth, which will put students in the seats. As inflation becomes a larger problem in the United States economy, the operational budgets will only grow worse for the district. Lake County Schools need growth to pay for the schools they’ve overbuilt. This choice will need some answered prayers.
The Lake County School District is like many of the county’s homeowners – they built too much house, which has made them house poor. Teachers in Lake County can blame any state politician they want, but the real issue here is poor planning, overbuilding, and not controlling operational expenses.
If today, parents could choose between students going to school in portables or four-day-school weeks we bet many would choose the portables. If today, teachers and school employees could pick between new facilities; or no cut in pay, employment, and full benefits, most would choose the latter. Money that should have been invested in people has been put into glass and mortar. In our view, people are the difference in education.
The Right Side of the Lake is a publication of Citizens for Better Government, L.L.C., and if you would like to comment on today’s column please go to our website www.lakecountygov.info or www.therightsideofthelake.com. This newsletter is free to all who would like to subscribe, and we encourage you to send it out to everyone on your mailing list. If you have information or a topic you would like us to cover please email us directly at lakecountygov@lakecountygov.info
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I’m guessing my school received all of the new 10 enrollments since 08. Besides parents move around and one area may have over growth compared to another. Someone always finds something to complain about. Something good for our students and you have to shoot it down. Until you’re in the school and know what is expected from the student and teacher you have no idea what it takes. If you don’t like it do something. Don’t belly ache about it!
” A four-day-school week is yet another step in dumbing-down Lake County students.”
” Most experts in the education system say that one of the major flaws with the United States education system is that students attend school too few days now.”
They sure can’t lay off un-needed teachers and other employee’s because the SEIU is watching their every move! Yes! The SEIU has a Tavares office! Yes! They gave Jimmy Conner and Elaine Renick donations in their last elections! Then other politicians got nervous and refused to take thei money! They can’t cut the debt service! All they can cut to save expenses is their services. Look forward soon to a three say school week! Try servicing the $560 Million bond debt on their dwindling revenues! Something has got to give! So they talke about school uniforms and give employee’s a 3 million healthcare service! Why because they don’t know how to play a fiddle like Nero did when Rome was burning, that’s why!
In case you think the SEIU is some peripheral out-of-the-mainstream organization:
The SEIU devoted $28 million to Obama’s campaign, making the SEIU “the organization that spent the most to help Barack Obama get elected president.” Furthermore, who is Obama’s favorite White House guest and one of his closest confidants?
The individual who has visited the Obama White House the most: SEIU President Andy Stern, who has visited 53 times. Obama is closely linked with the SEIU. The SEIU is closely linked with communists.
Dear Mr. Joseph Tomanelli,
We only have room for three wisemen and we already have them. Randy Wiseman, Ralph Smith and the great Hollywood “commontator” Vance Jochim! I suppose you already know everything and do not find it necessary to read the rules of the Right Side of the Lake. If you had read the kitchen table article you would realize that the RSOL realizes most of their truths come from anonymous bloggers and they welcome same!
You see sir those who would desire credit for their comments are always attacked for those comments because its the only defense the system has for it’s schemes and corruption! They can not attack the facts so therefore they attack the messenger of the facts!
The system uses the likes of you and the three aforementioned to ward of those who know and would tell the truths. By using otherwise decent folks to attempt to intimidate them with such remarks as those you made! You see the words of an anonymous person are either true or false! That is all that matters! It matters not that the identity of the person is unknown! Many famous sayings are authored by unknown persons.Do you refuse to read or head them? Ronald Reagan once said something like, it’s amazing what a person can accomplish if they don’t care who gets the credit! So, you see Joe the truth will continue to flow and it matters not what the masters of control of Lake County governments intermaking likes!
Funny, but for a minute there I though we were probably on the same side of these isues until you started makeing fun of anonymous comments! RSOL don;t seem to mind at all, they know that’s the only way they will ever get the truth out from those who are threatened with losing the jobs and retirements and some have even lost more that that!
Dear Uniforms by Fall,
I would like to point out your statement, “All this bull because they don’t have the intestinal fortitude to enforce dress codes because they are afraid of political correctness!” Although it may be so, I find it a little hypocritical since you posted anonymously.
Joe
What everyone needs to understand before you set out to fix something is, that the most efficient system is not consolidation. Consolidation or regionalization is a ploy used by the government (usually at the direction of unions and other special interests) to usurp your control. The closer the control is to the user the more efficient. This is not only for education, but most all government services, road maintenance, police, and fire. If you are in Clermont, and you have a complaint about a service, do you have more clout in Clermont or Tavares? Do you have more clout in Tavares or Tallahassee? Where is the only place you can have an effect on making change?
If every school had a board of trustees and you wanted to institute uniforms in the school, would you have a better chance of convincing a board of trustees of a particular school made up of parents?
All our problems originate at the government.
Mr.Tomanelli is right on. It’s time for us as parents to take control of what’s left of Parent Teacher Associations and turn them into something of a driving force.The system has become one sided and self serving. The concept of the 4 day school week demonstrates this for the reasons Mr. Tomanelli stated. They could more easily have saved money in the same way by getting rid of teacher’s work days and the shortened Wednesdays that put all working parents in a tailspin. We all need to get involved and organize at each of our schools and then aspire to work collectively. I also appreciate Mr. Howard’s involvement and believe he may be trying to do what is right but we can’t be building brick castles when block buildings and portables will suffice in areas of need. It is quite possible that there will be changes in populations to less families with school age children in certain areas due to the lack of jobs in many areas such as Clermont. We can see that now with the trends in home buying. It’s time to look back 25 years and use that for a blueprint. If we don’t, we can work more hours to pay more taxes and miss the opportunity to raise our children the way we want them raised.
I thought Patricia Sullivan went down there and straightened that bunch out. Sound like they didn’t pay any more attention to her than anyone else. She refuses to educate herself so therefore she has no idea what is really going on. One has to wonder how a home schooling stay at ome mom can educate her kids when she refuses to educate herself. No wonder the tea parties are called tea baggers they make themselves look like idiots!
Just today that out of town mullet wrapper runs a story the Lake County school kids will be in uniforms by fall. When do these board members make these decisions? In the middle of the night like the BCC I suppose! I understand that Jim Miller looks like an old gopher that lost his shell and maybe he has a fetish for everyone looking plain jane or jim or something but that does not give him or his coharts on the LCSB the right or authority to tell me my child has to wear a uniform to school. These suckers can’t even manage the school boards business without putting us in bankruptcy and now they are going to tell my children what to wear to school! It will never happen! They are going broke anyway! I will put my children in a Christian school where they can learn to be American citizens and dress and pray when they want too instead of waiting for the gestapo to come up with their next communist manifesto!
All this bull because they don’t have the intestinal fortitude to enforce dress codes because they are afraid of political correctness! Well politically all these suckers need to be unemployed now! If we vote them out before they get their six years in we can save their retirement benefits!
So, just don;t let the suckers have more than on term in office. If they steal or otherwose commit fraud let their second term be 20 years to life at Eglin Golf Course!
I apologize for a couple of typos i my first post. Focusing on the “budget shortfall” is just like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It is not the budget that is the problem, it is the system that is the problem. Fix the system and the budget will take care of itself. I cannot believe how brainwashed we have become concerning the process. What has been done can be undone.
Who cares more about the children than the parents? So why look to Lake County Boards for solutions? Why look to Tallahassee for solutions? And why look to Washington for the solutions? Its the parents that need the control.
As I have already demonstrated, I am more than willing to stand up against adding seats that are not needed. When it comes to the high school situation in the South end of the county, we needed relief. East ridge is at a little over 3000 students and South Lake is over 2000 students. Both are well over capacity, I am not sure there was another reasonable option.
When it comes to closing the budget gap, at our last workshop, I ask for a reduction to all school discretionary spending by 10%. That would account for more than $400k in savings. The board will be looking at all departmental level budgets line by line. I fully expect to find the remainder there. I am still interested in getting process audits done for all departments. This is taking longer to get implemented than I had hoped but we are making progress.
Finally, our State funding was reduced by a little over $500/student. That is where the budget shortfall comes in. Next Year is going to be the tough budget year.
Tod Howard
Let’s see, How about Bob McKee pushing for all those schools like he pushed for the South Tavares Campus that was to have cost us untold millions! He had Jimmy The Great screaming at Anna Cowin out of one side of his mouth taking architect and contractors money with one hand and pushing those schools with the other hand and that forked tongue. All the time Bob McKee and his bond selling buddies was frothing at the mouth! Over $560 MILLION in bond debt for the LCSB! Less than $135 MILLION of the BCC, but McKee, Cadwell and Minkoff would have had us $800-900 Million in bond debt if not for too many eyes and one constitutional officer interferring with their schemes! That is why there was never any cost of operation projections on these new schools. The push was on to build the schools and get those kickbacks from the contractors, architects and bond originators! Those who were mesmerized by favors and promises voted in favor of spending, spending and more spending and were so wrapped up in the scheme of things they forgot there would be tomorrows coming and did not care because even stated they would be long gone before the debts come due!
Now the debts have to be serviced! As one of their brillient allies stated a few weeks ago, they service the bond debts from one source of income and pay teachers salaries and fund operating expenses and such from others! The person was obviously educated beyond their intelligence and failed to realize when you are broke you are broke, it matters not which pot you were keeping your gold it when they are all empty! So, their choices are to, pay the debts. Since they can’t cut those payments those are fixed expenses! The can as this story implies cut other expenses, which they refuse to do because it requires laying off non-essential employee’s. So one of the brillient ones come up with cutting services! Four day school week! How brillient, over extend yourself and cut your services! Suppose if a business wanted to survive hard times they would just close and stop selling as much products or services! Sure that would work! Soon they would be filing for bankruptcy! That’s the LCBS’s next choice! Bankruptcy!
The Minneola High School stands as a monument to the poor decisions made by the school board. As a contractor fortunate enough to have work at the site, I would gladly have forfeited the work to see this project not exist. The grandeur of the school mixed with the fact it is not needed makes it absurd. Everyone interested in knowing where our biggest school budget problems come from should visit the site. It is eye opening, even from the road.
The Education Monopoly have perfected their tactics to get more money and give less quality. The first gambit is they cut is the sports programs. Parents with children in sports are very active in the child’s life. So by making it sound like it is the only alternative to maintaining the educational level with the reduced budge, they can recruit those parents to their side.
The 4 day week is another gambit. Working parents would need to make arrangements to care for those children on the workday the kids are home, putting the parents jobs in jeopardy. Surly they would come on board to support more spending at that point. These are the same people that have made the best Educational system in the world, barely making it in the top 20 in math, science, and literacy. The monopoly does what all monopolies do, raise cost and diminish quality.
This is the same old same old that the NEA has been using for years to fleece the taxpayers. The monopoly must be broken and the parents must be in charge if the educational system can be fixed to meet the levels of most of the other industrial nations.
New Zealand no longer has any low performing schools in their country. They set out a voucher plan and the amount spent went to the school they selected to send their child. All the school boards were disbanded. In place of a school board, a board of trustees were elected to perform that function, including policy decisions, curriculum, personnel, purchasing and prioritizing the funds to get the most for the least. These trustees were elected and the only qualification required to run for these positions is the candidate must have a child as an enrolled student in that school. Once this was instituted the inner-city schools were performing as well as the schools in affluent areas. It too only 3 years, less than a single governors term.
Don’t fall for it, just fix it and set new policies that work.
Most of the overbuilding of schools happened when Jimmy Conner was on the school board, and yet he still gets a B+. Puzzling!