by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Unless some sort of miracle occurs, there will be an unprecedented funding shortfall affecting the Duval County school system during the next school year.
According to Duval County School Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals, the county is looking at a shortfall of nearly $100 million. How that shortfall will be addressed was the topic of a joint workshop Monday between the Duval Delegation and the Duval County School Board. Held at the Schultz Center, the workshop attracted an overflow crowd of educators, school administrators and members of the public.
“We are certainly facing a crisis in public education,” said Pratt-Dannals in what may be the understatement of the year thus far. “This will probably be the worst fiscal year in the last 37-40 years.”
Pratt-Dannals, as others acknowledged as well, said it will take much more than school administrators asking the State Legislature for help.
“Quite frankly, we need to mobilize in the community, but not in an adversarial way,” he said.
Heading into the 2009-10 school year, there are more funding questions than answers. Pratt-Dannals said there are a variety of things the local school system can do to hold down costs including reducing staff and their salaries and benefits, cutting education programs such as PE, music and the arts, reducing the number of guidance counselors and media staff and cutting back on the number of assistant principals and coaches. He also said reducing benefits across the board is an option.
However, as most agreed, all of those options are counter to providing quality, well-rounded educations through qualified teachers and administrators.
“We may have to have a tobacco tax, an alcohol tax or a one-cent sales tax for a while,” said Pratt-Dannals, referring to ways the state can make up for lost revenue due to low sales and reduced property taxes. “I think we — a combination of the Legislature, governor, businesses, PTA, School Board, superintendent and employee organizations — need to look at where we want public education to be in 30 years. We need to look at the needs, how it’s designed and the resources.”
According to Pratt-Dannals, one of the main funding sources for public education — the Florida Lottery — has all but dried up for K-12 education. In the early 1990s, Duval County got nearly $33 million a year from the Lottery. This year, that figure is about $8.8 million with $5 million of that going to school recognition programs.
“Too much Lottery money is going to higher education in the form of Bright Futures,” said State Rep. and Duval Delegation Chair Jennifer Carroll.
Carroll said the Delegation will listen to the issues facing the school system and take those issues to Tallahassee next week when the 2009 legislative session begins Tuesday.
“Our goal is to understand the financial issues surrounding education funding,” said Carroll.
Pratt-Dannals said other measures that will be taken to help reduce spending during the 2009-10 school year include: a hiring freeze for all non-school positions, reduction in travel, seminars and conferences for administrators and School Board members, fewer supplies purchased, a reduction in contracting and consulting services, a reduction in overtime, less furniture, equipment and computers purchased and salary freezes.
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