04-29-2010, 08:48 PM
Heres your chance PBA, be the golden boy, step up with some numbers from PBSO and save the District money. Partner with the CTA, tell them more benefits if we are green, MORE money for you and your teachers.......YOU SHOULD RUN WITH THIS, TELL KAZ, because I am sending an email now...........................
Palm Beach County School Board faces $83 million gap in budget
Against a backdrop of negotiations over teacher raises for this year, Palm Beach County School Board members began today to consider how to plug an estimated $83 million hole in the coming year's $2.7 billion budget.
Their task is far from easy.
The $83 million shortfall doesn't include the up-to-$59 million cost of stricter class-size limits that take effect this fall. Voters will consider relaxing class-size requirements in November, but school districts still face a financial penalty if they don't comply.
It also doesn't include the cost of raises for teachers. This year, the district offered one-time $500 bonuses at a cost of $6.6 million. The teachers union's proposal of automatic pay increases based on experience would cost between $14 million and $16.7 million - any automatic increase also would be in the coming year's budget.
Board members also must consider the looming loss of $100 million in federal stimulus dollars in 2012. Federal stimulus funds have been paying for about 1,600 jobs.
"We have a lot of issues stacking up for fiscal year 2012," said Mike Burke, the district's chief financial officer.
Board members, who met for four hours today, will give tentative approval of the budget and property tax rate in July, with final approval in September. The school district's fiscal year starts July 1.
They plan to meet several times in May.
Of the $83 million shortfall, about $61.3 million comes out of the district's capital budget, which pays for school construction, while about $21.8 million comes from the operating budget, which pays for most employee salaries and academic programs.
Palm Beach County schools have escaped massive layoffs thus far by using federal stimulus dollars to preserve jobs, enacting a hiring freeze for non-instructional jobs and "backing up" on efforts to reduce class sizes ahead of the state's phased-in requirements, Burke said.
But it's getting tougher to trim the budget.
Health care alone will cost $9 million more for Palm Beach County schools next year, Burke said. Property values also have fallen an average of 12 percent throughout the county in the last year, he said. School budgets are supported largely by local and state property taxes.
Board members, who didn't get into details today, said they want to avoid layoffs, if possible.
Board member Paulette Bur**** asked about switching some employees from 12-month contracts to 11-month contracts.
Board member Debra Robinson said she wanted to avoid options that cut pay from the district's lowest-paid employees.
"Anything that decreases the amount of money in someone's paycheck, we need to start from the top," she said.
Palm Beach County School Board faces $83 million gap in budget
Against a backdrop of negotiations over teacher raises for this year, Palm Beach County School Board members began today to consider how to plug an estimated $83 million hole in the coming year's $2.7 billion budget.
Their task is far from easy.
The $83 million shortfall doesn't include the up-to-$59 million cost of stricter class-size limits that take effect this fall. Voters will consider relaxing class-size requirements in November, but school districts still face a financial penalty if they don't comply.
It also doesn't include the cost of raises for teachers. This year, the district offered one-time $500 bonuses at a cost of $6.6 million. The teachers union's proposal of automatic pay increases based on experience would cost between $14 million and $16.7 million - any automatic increase also would be in the coming year's budget.
Board members also must consider the looming loss of $100 million in federal stimulus dollars in 2012. Federal stimulus funds have been paying for about 1,600 jobs.
"We have a lot of issues stacking up for fiscal year 2012," said Mike Burke, the district's chief financial officer.
Board members, who met for four hours today, will give tentative approval of the budget and property tax rate in July, with final approval in September. The school district's fiscal year starts July 1.
They plan to meet several times in May.
Of the $83 million shortfall, about $61.3 million comes out of the district's capital budget, which pays for school construction, while about $21.8 million comes from the operating budget, which pays for most employee salaries and academic programs.
Palm Beach County schools have escaped massive layoffs thus far by using federal stimulus dollars to preserve jobs, enacting a hiring freeze for non-instructional jobs and "backing up" on efforts to reduce class sizes ahead of the state's phased-in requirements, Burke said.
But it's getting tougher to trim the budget.
Health care alone will cost $9 million more for Palm Beach County schools next year, Burke said. Property values also have fallen an average of 12 percent throughout the county in the last year, he said. School budgets are supported largely by local and state property taxes.
Board members, who didn't get into details today, said they want to avoid layoffs, if possible.
Board member Paulette Bur**** asked about switching some employees from 12-month contracts to 11-month contracts.
Board member Debra Robinson said she wanted to avoid options that cut pay from the district's lowest-paid employees.
"Anything that decreases the amount of money in someone's paycheck, we need to start from the top," she said.