A sigh of relief as audible as the thunderous applause filled the room on Feb. 14 when the Seminole County School Board agreed to remove school closures as a cost-saving option for the 2012-13 school year.
This follows a bill in the Legislature that is poised to allow the school board to put a hold on planned retirement fund increases that would have cost the county nearly $5 million. Without the increase, the district now has enough room in the budget to keep the schools open for at least one more year, school officials say.
The school district has lost more than $83 million in state funding during the past four years.
The plan to alleviate budget deficits by closing two schools — Geneva and Keeth elementary schools topping the list — next year was contested by parents and community members who made strong showings at school board meetings and with letter writing campaigns to the Legislature. Some legislators reacted by filing a bill that would prevent school districts from closing any schools, legislation many said was directed only at Seminole County.
“The residents of Seminole County have really made education a priority and the Legislature has responded to their outcry,” Vogel said. “It’s not over till it’s over, but this is certainly a great example of democracy in action.”
Cheers abound
When students at Geneva learned that their school was safe for one more year, their cheers were so loud, parents waiting outside in the pick-up line could hear them, Principal Tina Erwin said.
“This is the best Valentine’s present ever,” Geneva fourth-grader Rebecca Johnson said as tears erupted in the classroom.
Vogel cautioned that they still have a lot of work ahead of them to keep the schools open long term as enrollment in the county school district continues to decline.
“At the recommendation of Chairman Tina Calderone and member Dede Schaffner, we have asked major local corporations to look over our budget and John Hillenmeyer, CEO emeritus of Orlando Health, has agreed to do so,” Vogel said.
The board has also voted to establish an operations committee with representatives from each school appointed by the principals.
“Together, they will set criteria that would be used in the event that school closure is necessary in order to make the process as democratic and fair as possible, so that everyone will understand exactly how the decisions are being made,” Vogel said.
Vogel said out that long term, the only way to save the schools is to raise additional funds. Voters rejected a half-cent sales-tax referendum by 51 percent of voters in 2010. Vogel has proposed adding a 1 mil increase to the property tax that would alleviate the current budgetary shortfall — about $100 for a home with $100,000 of taxable value.
The increase would have to be approved by the board before May 8 in order to be added to the August ballet for voter approval, Vogel said.