Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Jefferson County School Board last week approved its final budget and millage rate, assuring property owners of slightly lower taxes for the 2021-22 fiscal year and showing that the district is in a healthy financial state.
The final budget and millage rate that the school board adopted on Monday, Sept. 13, were for $11,341,988 and 5.865 mills, respectively. The budget represents an increase of $788,438 over the preliminary figure cited in July, and the millage rate represents 0.92 percent decrease over the rollback rate.
The rollback rate is calculated to generate the same amount of property tax revenues as the prior year, less allowances for new construction, additions, demolitions and such. In Florida, taxing authorities that choose not to use the rollback rate must advertise a tax increase, as maintaining the millage rate even at the same level as the prior year will generally increase taxes because of rising valuations.
The 5.865 mills are expected to generate $4,387,797 in ad valorem taxes, which is $224,818 more than the $4,162,979 that the last millage raised because of increased valuations, even though the new millage is lower than the rollback rate.
Carol MacLeod, a retired chief financial officer and consultant to the district, told the board that the $788,438 increase in the budget from the $10,553,550 reported at the preliminary hearing in July and the current $11,341,988 resulted from the closing of the prior year’s books, the release of capital funds by the state and other revenues and expenditures identified in the interim.
She also shared good news with the board relative to the district’s fund balance and how it might play to the school board’s good in its coming talks with the state to regain control of the schools.
Florida law requires that school districts maintain a fund balance of three percent or higher, referred to as the “financial condition ratio.” This is a figure that is calculated by taking a district’s total amount of money in its assigned and unassigned fund balances and dividing it by the total revenue.
One of the reasons that the state took control of the local district and continues to hold oversight of its finances is because the district’s fund balance dropped below the required three percent level several years back. That situation, however, is no longer true.
“Your fund balance is continuing to grow,” MacLeod said, noting that the balance had gone from under three percent at the time the board lost the schools, to five percent, to 10 percent and was currently at 15 percent.
“This is the number that the state looks at,” MacLeod continued, talking about the fund balance. “So, this is a good thing. You’re at a good starting point to have a conversation with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) about taking back the schools.”
She cautioned, however, that the board shouldn’t expect it could maintain this high a fund balance once it regained the schools. The reason why the district had as high a balance as it did, she said, was because the board had sold off properties, school buses and other assets. Once it began operating the schools again, however, the fund was bound to go down, as the board started expending monies on necessities, she said. Most school districts, she said, maintained a fund balance between three and five percent, which was considered good.
“Fifteen percent is not something that you’re going to be able to keep, but it’s a good thing now,” McLeod said.
She also emphasized the importance of the board coming up with a strategic plan to identify its mission and vision.
“You can’t wait for the FDOE to do it for you,” MacLeod said. “Part of the FDOE’s problem is that it’s never done this before because this is a unique situation. Look at this as an opportunity to grow your plan. But it’s not just about having a strategic plan. You have tie it to the budget.”
The school board has scheduled a workshop at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27, to work on a strategic plan and accompanying budget. Representatives of the FDOE are supposed to attend the workshop.