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Editorial: Belt-tightening at Hillsborough schools

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published Oct. 14, 2016

A fuller picture emerged last week of the budget crisis facing the Hillsborough County school system — not only the waste and bad decisions leading up to it but the shared responsibility and hard choices ahead for improving the district's finances. Officials need to reform many outdated business practices and better use many resources — from teachers to secretaries to laborers — that they have now. The budgeting process also needs to be more open and accountable.

The district imposed a hiring freeze last week on all teachers and support staff, as it looks to rebuild its depleted cash reserves by cutting positions, reducing expenses and reassigning staff to fill existing vacancies. The move came after a consultant's report recommended a series of steps that it estimated would save nearly $47 million a year, a big move toward the district's goal of saving $130 million this year to bring its cash reserves back to a healthy level.

The Gibson Consulting Group was exhaustive in its search for savings. Not every idea sounds worthwhile, but the consultants performed a service by bringing to light plenty of antiquated and wasteful practices that cost the taxpayers millions that should be spent in the classroom. While the hiring freeze and other steps are pointing the district in the right direction, it needs to show a greater urgency in fixing some systemic problems and a smarter approach over the long term to managing public money.

The obvious steps are also the easiest — replacing paperwork with more efficient automation, better tracking employee work hours and rethinking a bloated health insurance program. The district also needs to reduce the inefficiencies in its maintenance and transportation departments. Filling vacancies by shifting teachers on special assignment back into the classroom makes sense.

The district should be mindful of how any change will affect the learning environment. Specialty teachers, for example, still have a role to play in keeping underperforming students from falling behind. Older schools — many in heavily poor, minority neighborhoods — cannot be allowed to languish without proper maintenance or suffer with poor technology.

The November elections are critical for the School Board, as two new members have a chance to bring a fresh perspective and an exacting eye to business. The board members need to be more engaged on the budget, and the public needs to know what specific course the district is following to rebuild its financial health. That is critical for maintaining public faith in the nation's eighth-largest school system.