Hillsborough school officials held back on publicly discussing dwindling reserve fund

TAMPA — During a mid-July retreat at a Holiday Inn in Brooksville, the news started trickling out to Hillsborough County School Board members. The school district's reserve fund was shrinking fast.Superintendent Jeff Eakins was waiting to hear from the district's bonding agencies, who would later tell him a $200 million depletion over four years led to negative reports to investors.In the days and weeks that followed, Eakins held one-on-one meetings with board members. He urged principals on July 22 to be extra careful with their budgets.Yet at the board's July 28 public hearing on this year's $2.8 billion budget, neither the members nor Eakins nor any of his staff mentioned the problem. Instead, after a scripted presentation from Eakins, the board approved the budget in a 6-0 vote with no discussion. The issue of shrinking reserves would not surface publicly until a week later, after Eakins disclosed it to the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune editorial boards.Why did district leaders wait so long to go public with the information? And why, at its televised Aug. 11 meeting, did the board hold back from any detailed discussion of finances?Eakins said this week at a news conference that he was making sure his message was appropriate and that administrators throughout the large district had the facts they needed to react appropriately. "I think it was very important for me, out of respect for all the leaders in this district, to equip them with the information," he said. "One superintendent and one board can't make all decisions for everything. We want to make sure there's a consistent message out there around this, and equip everyone with the same information at the same time."The Times tried to ask all seven board members about their silence at the July 28 budget hearing. Only Chairwoman Susan Valdes and board member Sally Harris responded.Valdes said she did not know if the board could have rejected the budget at the hearing, the first of two required by state law. She couldn't say why no one discussed the reserve account. As chairwoman, she said, she tries to navigate discussions initiated by other board members. Harris, similarly, said she assumed, "you've got to get a budget passed" to keep the schools running on schedule, even if financial questions remained to be resolved later in the year.Asked whether the board would have robust conversations about its budget reserve in a public forum, Valdes said, "I believe that we have proven that we are capable of having robust conversations at the dais."She added: "We want to kick off the school year correctly and with a positive note while the adults are doing the hard work of making sure that we all have the same information. But will that robust conversation be had? Of course."Jim Porter, the board's attorney, pointed out that the board will have another chance to discuss the budget at the second public hearing on Sept. 8. Technically, he added, the fund balance dropped in prior years while the budget they will approve is for the future."I don't think there was any intent to try and hide anything," Porter said. "The intent was to do it in a thoughtful way and not create a panic."Harris, one of the newest members of the board, remembers being reassured by other members during the retreat that the district had too much money in reserve in 2011, when the fund was at its peak. So she didn't worry. She realized the gravity of the situation during the July 22 principals' meeting, and in her one-on-one meeting with Eakins.Still, she said, she has full confidence in Eakins and his chief of staff, Alberto Vazquez, as they continue their research and prepare a plan to cut spending."I feel that the board, on this issue, is committed deeply to moving ahead in an open manner," Harris said. Eakins can hardly be accused of keeping the information quiet, she said, as he disclosed it to all the district's principals.As he has in the past, Eakins said the district faces a challenge, not a crisis, as it seeks to avoid another operational deficit this year. It won't be easy. A new teacher pay scale, stemming from changes to the district's evaluation system, cost an additional $65 million last year. And Eakins has declared the teachers are worth every dime.Before he knew the cost of the teacher raises, Eakins estimated that, if the district didn't cut costs, it would consume $75 million more out of the reserve fund.Despite the measured approach to releasing the reserve account information, Eakins said he is committed to full transparency. "The fact that the entire community is looking at that, that is the epitome of transparency," he said."We're trying to be the very best communicators of any organization around." Contact Marlene Sokol at (813) 226-3356 or msokol@tampabay.com. Follow @marlenesokol.

Hillsborough school officials held back on publicly discussing dwindling reserve fund

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