{"id":1176,"date":"2011-09-06T12:35:59","date_gmt":"2011-09-06T16:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=1176"},"modified":"2012-09-05T21:37:19","modified_gmt":"2012-09-06T01:37:19","slug":"schools-run-out-of-easy-budget-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2011\/09\/06\/schools-run-out-of-easy-budget-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"How Florida Schools Are Coping With Budget Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joe Raedle \/ Getty Images News<\/p>

Teachers rally against proposed budget cuts in March<\/p><\/div>\n

Seminole County could turn classroom thermostats all the way up and athletes may have to pay to wear their school\u2019s uniform.<\/p>\n

The wife of a Polk County Tea Party congressman led a failed effort to raise money for college counselors whose positions were eliminated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many students can no longer walk to catch the bus<\/a> after districts merged stops.<\/p>\n

School districts have been forced to make painful budget choices as state property values decline and the economy continues to sputter. More than $2.1 billion<\/a> has been cut from state education spending since 2008, according to the state education department.<\/p>\n

This year, districts are facing an 8 percent cut, or $542 per student.<\/p>\n

Every district has coped differently.<\/p>\n

Schools have maintained services with the help of one-time federal aid the past two years, and many districts used that time to prepare for the money running out this September.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties managed a softer landing by targeting administration and other overhead.\u00a0 Cutting central-office spending meant the districts avoided teacher layoffs and unpaid leave.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough has trimmed $170 million from its administrative costs since 2007. District management took a pay cut in Miami-Dade as part of $95 million in administrative savings.<\/p>\n

Orange County and Palm Beach County voters raised taxes to lessen the blow.<\/p>\n

Other districts laid off teachers, forced staff to take unpaid leave or eliminated programs that may be popular but are not necessary for graduation.<\/p>\n

“It’s Not Fair On The Kids”<\/h4>\n

South Florida\u2019s Broward County, the nation\u2019s sixth-largest school district, faces the biggest budget hole of any of the state\u2019s urban districts.<\/p>\n

Broward has laid off 2,400 workers, mostly teachers, to close a budget shortfall of more than $170 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair on the kids,\u201d said Declan Lyons, a Latin and French teacher at Cypress Bay High in Broward County. \u201cAnd now those kids have to be crammed into a room with teachers like cattle. It\u2019s a strain on the kids, it\u2019s a strain on the teachers and it\u2019s a strain on the administration.”<\/p>\n

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“That’s our core value. That’s what we do. That’s our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Broward County schools’ assistant budget director Becky McMahan<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n

Cypress Bay had to lay off 40 of Lyons\u2019 colleagues due to cuts. A world languages class has grown to 37 students, making the task of teaching foreign language more difficult, Lyons said. The average Broward County teacher salary has declined 16 percent<\/a> since 2008, the most in the state according to state education department data.<\/p>\n

This was the toughest budget year district finance expert Becky McMahan has seen. The district exhausted $64 million in one-time funds to pay for teachers last year, she said.<\/p>\n

The district could not hire those teachers again this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our core value. That\u2019s what we do. That\u2019s our business,\u201d McMahan said.<\/p>\n

Sweating Next Year’s Budget<\/h4>\n

Seminole County students won’t notice the cuts until next fall. The district already cut $80 million since 2008 and used its remaining one-time money in the current budget.<\/p>\n

Seminole is considering a series of progressively more difficult decisions, facing a $22 million budget deficit next year. District budget experts sent a list of 33 possible cuts to the school board earlier this month. They include:<\/p>\n