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Pasco school budget talks target raises, capital costs

 
Published July 9, 2015

LAND O'LAKES — Pasco County School District officials are confident they can offer 3 percent raises to employees, but they aren't as confident they'll have enough long-term cash to maintain existing schools or to build new classrooms.

The district's needs are still outpacing its revenue, superintendent Kurt Browning said in a budget workshop with School Board members Tuesday, the first public discussion on the proposed budget.

The district expects $20.5 million in new revenue, largely due to increased state funding and additional dollars for the nearly 1,300 new students projected to enroll in Pasco schools in the coming year.

The proposed budget dedicates money for 31 new school technology technicians, 63 employees to staff three new and reopened elementary schools and 46 new bus drivers.

The added revenue made it easier to balance the budget this year, Browning said, but it still required tough decisions to sift through requests from different departments.

"We don't want to become bloated," Browning said. "We don't want to spend money and hire positions simply because we can."

A 3 percent salary increase would cost the district $11.2 million. If approved by the School Board and the United School Employees of Pasco, it would be the third consecutive year the district has boosted salaries. The first public hearing for the proposed budget is scheduled for July 28.

But, not all is rosy. Chris Williams, director of planning, reminded the board about the district's continued challenges, including $451 million in construction debt and just $1.3 million from the state in capital dollars for maintenance, known commonly as PECO funding.

Olga Swinson, the district's chief financial officer, said next year the board will be forced to reduce its capital projects, such as maintenance and repairs.

The capital plan projects $116 million in revenue for the coming year from local property taxes, impact fees, state aid, Penny for Pasco sales tax and a $50 million bond. But the plan also projects $137 million in expenses, including building three new schools and doing major renovation work to four existing campuses.

Over the next 10 years, the plan projects revenue of $815 million and more than $1 billion in capital projects.

"We're spending more than we are bringing in," Swinson said. "There's no way I'm going to be able to balance that budget."

The district is already experiencing a great deal of growth and expects even more, Browning said, especially through new developments along the State Road 54/56 corridor.

"Moms and dads don't want their kids in crowded classes," Browning said. "The schools on that corridor are already at or above capacity."

The designs for the three new schools to be built in the coming year — two elementary schools and one combined middle and high school — aim to relieve crowding at existing schools.

The board also plans to consider proposing increased school impact fees, the one-time charge on new residential construction to ensure new growth helps pay for increased demand on services.

The district likely will be relying much more on impact fees in the next 10 years than in the past, said Carson Bise, president of Maryland-based economic planning firm TischlerBise. The firm will lead an update study to help the board determine a new impact fee proposal.

The fee is currently about $4,800 per single-family home. After the study, which will likely last about four to five months, the School Board will vote to recommend a fee, which ultimately must be approved by county commissioners.

Deputy superintendent Ray Gadd said he plans to meet with the executive board of the Tampa Bay Builders Association to receive comments for the impact fee study.

"It will be wonderful if we can get the builders on board with us," Gadd said. "That will certainly help."

Contact Samantha Schmidt at (813) 435-7308 or sschmidt@tampabay.com. Follow @schmidtsam7.