School Board OKs proposed $2.1 billion budget
The School Board of Lee County gave a unanimous nod to the proposed $2.1 billion 2022-2023 budget during its first budget hearing Tuesday night.
The budget supports 118 schools and almost 100,000 students.
The proposed budget, $2,135,684,823, includes $1,051,816,419 for the General Fund; $85,792,884 for debt services; $700,312,719 for the capital budget; $58,892,878 for special revenue – grants; $69,929,293 for special revenue – food services and $168,940,630 for internal services.
The general, or operating, fund is the largest fund: 49 percent, or $1 billion, as it is for the education of students and the general operating expenses of the district. Chief Finance Officer Dr. Ami Desamours said they are hitting a very big bench mark in terms of reaching 100,000 students.
“We want to make sure we are focusing on the continued resources towards our targeted initiatives,” she said.
Those initiatives will focus on resources to the classroom, reading initiatives at the elementary school level, as well as continuing an additional 30 minutes at select elementary and middle schools to maximize student learning and achievement. In addition, the budget focuses on the whole child, including mental wellness, English learners, students who need additional interventions and support and recapturing learning losses.
“We are keeping our resources laser focused on initiatives and focus on employee retention. We are people intensive and all of these initiatives do not happen without quality staff to oversee and run these initiatives,” Desamours said.
The Florida Education Finance Program is a major funding mechanism for school districts. This year the district is projected to receive $853.2 million in total FEFP revenue, a $70 million increase from previous year. Desamours said there is $23.4 million they are anticipating will go towards Family Empowerment Scholarships, an increase from previous years.
There also is an $8.5 million increase in the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation. Desamours said it is also state mandated to have a $15-an- hour minimum requirement for any staff that currently makes below that number.
The FEFP numbers also include a base student allocation of $4,587.40, a $214.49 increase.
The hearing also touched upon the contingency/reserves of the district, which protects the district’s financial position. The contingency represents 3 percent of new revenue, as well as $14.6 million for future reductions/needs.
“We did receive a proration from the state of $1.2 million. The state does not have the funds to support everything out there in FTEP right now,” Desamour said.
The food services budget supports the free breakfast and lunch for every child.
“We believe it is a good thing to make sure every student receives breakfast and lunch and some instances dinner at no additional cost for parents,” she said.
The local property tax and local half-cent sales tax option is the sole source of substantial revenue for the capital funds. The major focus is safety, security upgrades, maintenance and renovations of existing buildings and technology.
The board also approved the total proposed millage of 5.557 mills for a total amount to be raised of $714,417,597. The required local effort is 3.309 for a proposed amount to be raised of $425,410,802; 0.748 mills for basic discretionary to raise a proposed amount of $96,164,183 and 1.500 for capital outlay for a proposed total amount to be raised of $192,842,612.
Desamours said the millage rollback rate is the millage rate, which when applied to the current year’s tax roll would produce the same dollars as received in the previous year. She said the calculated roll back rate for this year is 4.7445 mills.
“The proposed millage rate for 2022-2023 is 5.557 mills, which is a decrease of .334 mills from the 2021-2022 millage rate of 5.81 and an increase from the roll back rate of 17.13 percent,” she said.
Desamours said the way the Florida Education Finance Program is structured is when the tax roll goes up, the millage rate goes down in response to that, which has happened since 2014. She said the FY23 tax value of $133,918,480,158 represents a 27.81 percent increase from last year’s tax roll.
Desamours said for a $200,000 home with a 27.81 percent taxable value has a new value of $255,620, which has a difference of $242 on property value from last year. For those under the Save Our Homes will have a 3 percent increase raising their $200,000 home to $206,000, a decrease in property tax of about $25.
“The new millage rate will generate $121.8 million more than the previous year because the increase in the tax roll,” she said.
The next budget hearing will be held Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 5:05 p.m.