Millions in school funding on the ballot

Voters will decide by March 20 whether to renew the school tax referendum, which provides $56 million in extra funding to Sarasota County Schools.

By Cassidy Alexander
| 1:19 p.m. February 23, 2018

The referendum voters will consider renewing helps fund art and music education in Sarasota County Schools.

Sarasota
News

With a special election this month on Sarasota County School’s voter-approved supplemental property tax, school officials say the district’s A-rating is on the line.

The 1-mill referendum, which costs voters $1 for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value on a home, generates $56 million that wouldn’t be available through the school district’s normal tax collection.

It’s money that the school district says allows for 30 extra minutes of instruction each day (equal to 18 full additional school days a year), as well as its music and art teachers.

“There’s a total of 580 positions funded through the referendum, and it represents 13% of our revenue,” said SCS Chief Financial Officer Mitsi Corcoran. “We truly believe this additional revenue stream is what’s allowed us to be an ‘A’ district every year.”

What did the referendum find in the 2017-2018 school year?

$11,302,283 — Continue funding all the art and music teachers.

$11,270,662 — Continue funding the thirty-minute longer duty day. This amount covers the total 7.1% paid to teachers and aides.

$8,226,775 — Continue funding the Charter schools to provide financial support due to the inadequate State funding.

$5,099,486 — Continue the funding of Guidance Counselor / Behavior Specialist/and additional Home School Liaison positions due to inadequate state funding.

$4,440,276 — Continue funding the Visual Performing Arts coordinator, the Booker High and North Port High performing arts technicians, Gifted cluster foreign language teachers, Young Marines program at Venice Middle school, ESE Compliance Liaisons, Riverview Planetarium, Teen Parent Social Worker, Sarasota Care Free Learner, elementary computer teachers, and elementary dance teachers at specific schools are funded with referendum dollars.

$3,116,729 — Continue funding a portion of the school office staff support and both instructional and non-instructional extra duty days.

$2,385,300 — Continue funding the Technology Support Professionals that are servicing school networks. The amount was increased to fund 100% of their positions, rather than a percentage from the capital transfer.

$1,945,864 — Continue the elementary Assistant Principal positions for all schools below 800 students.

$1,624,490 — Continue funding the elementary science teachers.

$1,773,687 — Continue the liaison or extra duty day support that is being provided to schools with significant number of students who do not speak English as their native language.

$1,554,136 — Continue funding the media personnel that are in the schools. All schools are now staffed with media aides, rather than the middle and high schools were staffed with media specialist positions.

$1,156,284 — Continue funding the school security aides that are in middle and high schools.

$889,938 — Continue the high school testing and scheduling coordinator. Continue funding the middle school testing scheduling intervention teacher.

$427,527 — Continue funding the program that provides for an alternative to school suspension. This amount is supplemental to the FEFP earned by the program.

$423,780 — Extend Reading Recovery Teachers by adding 6 teachers at non-Title I elementary schools.

$422,181 — Fund Middle School Career Advisors

The tax is up for renewal for the fifth time since it was implemented in 2002. If voters don’t approve it again, Corcoran said it would be a problem for the district.

To lose the millions in funding would mean restructuring: looking at the ratio of students to guidance counselors, looking at music and art education and cutting back on the extra instructional time.

“There would be a lot of scrambling if it didn’t pass. It funds so many enhanced opportunities.”

Read: Manatee County schools makes its case for 1-mill property tax increase

For her part, School Board Chairwoman Bridget Ziegler is hopeful the referendum will pass, and wants to encourage people to get out and vote.

“I think the biggest thing, in my opinion and it’s consistent across the board — we want people to be aware of when the election is and the value it brings,” she said.

District officials debate each year over the benefits, and drawbacks, of presenting the referendum in a special election. Each year, the School Board has decided the benefits of having an election to focus specifically on this issue is more important than the low voter turnout and the cost to host it — typically around $400,000, a cost similar to what it takes to fund middle school career advisors across the district.

In 2014, the most recent election, voter turnout was just 17%.

Still the referendum funds hundreds of instructors and employees throughout the district.

“We’re a people business,” Corcoran said. “We don’t make widgets, we help shape the future.”

Early voting starts March 10 and extends through March 17. Voters can go to the Sarasota Elections Office, 101 S. Washington Blvd., or Longboat Key Town Hall between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Election Day is March 20.