Broward School Board: Cuts are OK but eliminations are not

The Broward School Board met yesterday. And if you guessed that they were talking about the budget, then you’d be right.

In lengthy budget workshops, the Board has—so far—come to a consensus on several money-saving ideas to help make up the $130 million budget shortfall expected next school year.

To summarize the consensus of what the board will do: cut costs at the central area office by $5 million; stop paying $2.9 million for employee gym memberships; eliminate the over the counter medication benefit, which costs $200,000 and eliminate life insurance payments, which costs $300, 000; and stop printing pay stubs.

Also, the Board wants to raise your local taxes by $25 per $100,000 of a property’s taxable value or $50 per $250,000 in taxable value. The Legislature gave the district the ability to increase its local tax roll to make up the budget gap.

"We've got no revenue stream. None," School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Gottlieb said.

They said no to closing another area administrative office, which would save the district $284, 000 by eliminating an area superintendent and his or her secretary. Last year, the district cut one area office. Cutting another office so soon could hurt the services provided to the district’s 260 schools, the board decided.

“I think they are being stretched very thin considering the amount of work for a district this size,” board member Phyllis Hope said. Board member Kevin Tynan agreed but said it should considered for the 2011-2012 school year.

“Certainly perception is sometimes reality, and the perception is that government is top heavy,” Tynan said. “ But like everything, if you have to have a plan for slowly shrinking instead of drastically lopping off a department.”

The board gave a thumbs up to eliminating printed paystubs moving instead to electronic notification. The savings: $35, 000.

And when it comes to cutting/reducing sports, the board told staff to do more research. The suggestions varied from eliminating all varsity sports to reducing all sports and extracurricular activities, to cutting high school boys and girls golf, tennis water polo, and boys volleyball.

A 20 percent cut across the board would save $660, 000. The other idea is to further reduce middle school sports, which were reduced from seven sports to four. Intramural sports and community athletics would take up some of the slack.

The consensus reached: Cuts are OK but eliminations are not. They don’t want to end programs that kids can get scholarships through, as in debate programs, music programs or sports, regardless of how small the golf team is compared to football.

They haven’t gotten to the weighty issues of furloughs and high school scheduling changes.