001Everyone, welcome. We are in the TEC and it is Tuesday, July 15, 2025. I'd like to call this meeting to order of the school board. Um, this is the request to advertise a trim notice. The time is 11 o'clock. This time, please stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. At this time, I'd like to adopt the orders of uh the day. And um I'll ask for a motion. >> Make a motion. >> Okay. And a second. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Those in favor say I. >> I. >> Anyone opposed? Okay, they pass. Um at this time, I'd like to give
002guidelines for public input. We do we have anyone in the public that would like to speak? There is no one here for public input. So I will not be reading the guidelines since we don't have anyone here for public input. All right. Um we have one action agenda item and it is our approval to advertise the 20252026 proposed tenative budget and millage rates for the express purpose of advertising the budget in accordance with the truth and millillage requirements. This time I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Moore. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. As you just referenced, um the intent of this meeting is exactly that. Uh and Mr. Green will introduce the item for approval. >> Thank you, Dr. Moore, through the chair. Thank you, board. Um I have with me the director of
003finance, Kim Copman. Um I want to thank her and Lynn Justin, our executive assistant. Those are the two that have done the most work to get us to this point. Um very soon there will be lots and lots more work by many of the finance departments over the weekend um staff to draft the tenative budget. I will be reading a few little notes more than I normally do just to make sure we read everything into the the record that's required. So truth and mill trim is truth and millage. We are u this is the first of three required meetings that you have to have to adopt your budget. We are going to ask for approval today to allow the superintendent to update these ads that are in draft form based on the certified information that
004must be released by July 19th by statute. When we get that certified information hopefully this Friday, we will make final adjustments to these ads. There are three ads before you. One is a notice of a property tax increase. One is a notice of a tax for school capital outlay and one is a budget summary notice. These ads were generated using the conference report which was delivered to us on June 13th and revised on June 16th. Last year we had them on March 5th. So that information is tentative. We did get the certified taxable assessed value on July 1st from uh Mr. Wesley Davis's office, the property appraiser. So that information is certified. The state now ha now has to take that information and adjust any millage rates. The advertisements um before you will be published
005in the TC palm as required to be in a um paper of general circulation within the county. They'll be published on the 25th. They will run that'll go 3 days prior to our meeting on the 28th. we must publish within 2 to 5 days of that meeting. And then on the 28th, we will have a superintendent's workshop during the day which will have another budget update and then a public hearing to um adopt the tentative budget. So information about this budget so far has been presented um as part of superintendent's workshop on March 10th, April 14th and May 19th. Those were moreformational about how the budget is crafted, how the FEFP works, how the family empowerment scholarship works, all of the basics of the budgets. As we move forward and we get finalized numbers, the
006next workshops will then start focusing on this actual budget and how it is allocated on July 28th and August 25th. So just to summarize, these are required ads that must be published. They will be updated this Friday. They will be updated over the weekend based on the certified information provided by DOE. They'll be shared next week with the board in a memo and then they'll be published on the agenda prior to the 28th um tentative budget hearing. On August 25th, there will be an additional budget update as part of the superintendent. And then on September 9th, there will be your second public hearing where you would adopt the final millage rates and the budgets to be approved. Um there are two notices on these um ads. One of them the notice of a property tax
007increase. Anytime the taxable assessed value increases and for example your voter approved millage which is a 0.5 mil. If the taxable assessed value increases that generates additional dollars you must notice the public of a tax increase. So that's why that ad is there. If for some reason the TAV was declining and you were going to collect less dollars, that would not be a notice of a tax increase. It would simply be the notice of a public hearing to adopt the budget. The second ad, the notice for school capital outlay. The board approves its capital outlay plan. Every year you'll get those projects. So, but we are required to notify the public of projects that would be funded through that capital outlay plan and then the board makes modifications to it every year. Um, that's to
008fund your maintenance program, your building, your um repairs, to purchase school buses. That is the one thing in statute you have to put a number of school buses. You'll see it's 10. We don't have to buy 10, but we can't buy more than 10 without amending this ad. So that's the maximum that we have put. Um we we could buy zero school buses but we have to notice a particular number. Um it pays for salaries and benefits of those maintenance workers that support the plant that the capital outlay has funded. So that's a summary to the public of what the 1.5 capital mill funds in projects. And then the third item is the budget summary which lists all the required millages. And just to um remind the board, you have some local millages and the
009state has some millages they require of you. Your local millages are your 0.5 voter approved. It was approved through a referendum. That's an additional operating mill. You have a maximum 1.5 capital mill that goes to fund your capital program and building program. you have a 748 discretionary that's built into the FEFP formula assumed to be collected and then the rest of the millage the 2.99 that is currently listed and will be updated is what's called the required local effort. You must leverage that amount of mill to fund the budget. That is a requirement from the state. Um in the ad it also talks about the roll back rate. The roll back rate is the amount of millage that would need to be levied to collect exactly the same amount of dollars as last year. So
010the public needs to know that. That is why we advertise a notice of property tax increase when the TAV is um up. The only change to the budget summary will be there is a statement at the top that says when your operating expenditures are more than last year, you must put a bold print and it's this 109 page document of trim gives us the forms and the formulas on how to fill these out. These are not our forms. They are template forms. But we must notice to the public when the operating expenditures will be more. Currently based on the what we have our operating expenditures will be less. So that sentence will be removed from the ad unless through the certified numbers um there is an increase. We expect that it will be a decrease
011because your operating expenditures are made up of your general fund and your federal funds only not capital health or extended day or debt. And we know that the ESSER funds have faded off. So federal is reduced. So when you add general and federal together, there's less operating. So I fully anticipate that there will not be a notice of operating expenditures. Your property tax increase will be through your local millages of your capital outlay and voter approved millillage. So with that, the action you're taking today is you've seen the three ads and you will be giving the superintendent authority to update the ads of the certified information and publish them in the paper on the 25th. And that is the summary. >> Thank you. And board members, any questions? >> Yeah, I have a question, Miss
012Rosario. Um if why were these attachments um added for to the agenda, you know, seven days in advance of today's meeting, but weren't given to board members at a workshop prior >> or reviewed with board members to this detail in a workshop prior or in any other oper opportunity prior. So um this information is just now provided to us. So we are working on as I said the conference report came out on June 13th with an update on June 19th. The TAV came out on July 1st. So since July 1st, we've been going through this 109page document that has all types of Excel formulas in the background. This looks simple as you see it, but it takes a lot of people to get to these numbers. So these and that's why the budget workshops prior
013have kind of been about our budget and how it's calculated. But now is the first time we're able to provide and I don't want to say actual numbers but as close to actual numbers and there's still draft. So it's a timing issue of just having the data. >> Yeah. I I appreciate uh you and your entire team. Uh you all do impeccable work. Um but I just think the transparency needs to get better and it seems the transparency with the board um just seems to get less and less and less and partly because in this particular case the DOE waited for such a long time. Tallahassee. Uh the numbers actually, you know, the final numbers still haven't um come to you. Um which I which I get, you know, that's out of our control. Um
014but process and um and communication I I think just seem to get less and less with board with the board. Um and budget is such an important role for us. Um it's part of it's one of apart from supervising the superintendent, you know, it it is up there with policy, it's it's a big part of of our responsibility to approve. Um I'm grateful though that there we've done really well um you know managing the budget and and where districts are scrambling to um lose people during this time especially when we've had quite a few uh budgetary items that are on hold statewide. Um I'm grateful that we have not had such a a loss. Um and it seems our last year's budget was 4 4.3 million. No, what was last year's? >> Um the entire
015budget. >> Yeah. >> So the entire budget last year was 408 million. That includes extended debt, health insurance, debt, capital, food service, federal. >> Um this draft proposed budget without the final numbers is 412 million. >> Yeah. >> Again, that includes increases in family empowerment. that includes increases in the voter approved all of that. >> Yeah. >> Um >> but those numbers I can't give final numbers until the 19th to even talk about >> the chair. >> And when hold on one second Mr. Dyer >> and when was the um you said the date for uh what is the deadline to advertise again to put it in the paper because we're putting it in the paper, right? >> Yes. So you must notice it 3 to five days before your tentative budget hearing. The tentative
016budget hearing is on the 28th. So we will publish it on the TC Palm will publish it on Friday the 25th >> 25th >> and then that's the Friday, Saturday, Sunday which gives you your three and your actually four days. So we're right in the 3 to four day window. Um it has to be three to five days before your tenative budget. >> Okay. And we are at date we are in today's July 15th. >> Okay. >> And that's why we are presenting the draft ads because there would not be time to get that information on the 19th build it over and then have a work have a meeting. So we're bringing you them in the best draft form that we have. It's just a timing issue. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. Mr. Dyer. >>
017Yeah. I was going to say uh there's a difference even though the budget is up when you take out scholarships and some of the other uh categoricals that have been put into the uh budget were actually uh negative to last year totally. Uh I know there's 500 more uh vouchers than there were last year and also there are things in this year's budget that were categoricals that are no longer funded uh and are in the allocation basic allocation. >> That is that is correct. Um Dr. Jones >> uh just a few comments. Thank you very much. I want to start with, you know, I think we're an a school district because we do our best to make sure that where we put our money is in the classroom and the teachers and I'm very very
018proud of that. I know we're waiting for uh review on federal funds. I think total about 1.6 million. Hopefully we're hear about that soon because that if some of that is taken away then we've got to re revisit because that was done after the fiscal year and we've got to make sure people have their positions. Um just for people obviously the proposed tax increase school district is not doing that is because property values are going up and Mr. Green didn't the capital used to be 2 mill how long ago was that? My my terminology has always been twomill money because I was brought up in the days when it was 2 mill and that was uh reduced to 1.5 and I know the board had requested some information and you saw that that impact over
019that time since it was changed was about $175 million less >> in capital outlay and just to remind you that in that capital outlay as well even though your so your millages are staying the same 1.5 but the TAV is higher so it will generate additional dollars. Um, don't forget that now you as the local board will be required to um, pay the portion of the charter school's capital outlay based on their student. It was a 20%, 40%, this year 60, next year 80, and the following year 100%. So that portion that was typically paid for out of a state capital outlay will come out of that 1.5 mil as well. So that increase in the TAV helps cover some of that. And as far as the um second ad dealing with capital outlay, we
020list all of this. It's not that we're doing all this, but whatever we do needs to be on that list. Is that correct? >> Yes. If you were to do something, for example, if we didn't have the purchase of vehicles, we have the purchase of maintenance vehicles. that was not on there and we needed to purchase maintenance vehicles, we would have to publish a new during the year um capital outlay advertisement and go through that process of of noticing the public that we're going to spend the dollars on that. >> Okay, just a couple more comments. Um when you look at the budget summary, our fund balance is around 16%. Is that correct as we roll into this new school year? So the fund balance in the budget summary is around $30 million. Last year
021it was 31 million. So yes, that should be about 16%. >> And question on when you look at the operating budget and everything that's part of it. We're self-insured and I remember um with my individual meeting with you and I know we've had three board workshops that you talked to us about budget, three or four individual meetings with you and then I called you a couple times and met. But when one thing that always concerns me is um you know we're self-insured health safe harbor how is that going to work as we move into this year with increases. >> So the health insurance fund um we have the health insurance advisory task force hightef that manages that we have a consultant AON that works on it. This year we have had an unusually high number
022over 26 I believe of high claims over 150,000 several over 250,000 which is just unusual the fund balance in the health insurance fund at the beginning of the year was roughly 7.4 4 million. Right now it's roughly just over 4 million about 4.1. So it's approaching safe harbor which safe harbor simply means you have to have a plan. The board has to have a plan if you were to do that next year fall below. We already have a plan. We are working and we will be bringing forth some recommendations for increases in the health insurance fund premiums which I alluded to back in some of those workshops. The $2.8 million increase in health insurance fund. That's the board's contribution going up the percentage needed and the employee rates, but we still have negotiations to do
023with IRCA um later this month. It's difficult to negotiate salary and benefits when you don't have a budget. So, we just now have and just to be clear and to be on the record to finalize this budget, we will need the second calculation, right? >> The second calculation of the 2526 budget. I as your CFO sitting here today do not have the fourth calculation or the second half of last year's budget. There is information out there that the state has withheld $47 million from school districts in the fourth calculation and we've not seen that. As you heard Senator Gates for at any given day 23,000 students they don't know where they are in the state of Florida. They've put procedures in place moving forward. But it's I'm comparing stuff to third calculation which goes to
024second survey or October data. That's the best data that we have to work on. We gave a count in February. We normally have that in April or May. I still do not know what the second half of the budget for this past year will be. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Pasca. Any questions? It's good. >> No, thank you. I appre appreciate the discussion. I I don't have anything further to add um beyond the the private sessions we've had. >> Um I just like to thank you, Bruce, and your staff for the communication you give us, and I think it's very timely. Um you cannot have this meeting before now because you don't have the information you need. So, I understand why we're doing it at this point. Um, that's how the budget process works. Every
025year in July, we start kind of gearing up and it always seems like we're way behind, but it's because we're at the mercy of whatever is being released by the state. So, I appreciate all of your communication, all of your time, and I know that board members have the opportunity uh and we'll take advantage of that opportunity of calling you or sitting down with you when we get the book and all that and go through every line item if we need to. So I do want to thank u Miss Copman this year. She has set in on all those meetings that board members have asked for just as and it's it's been another additional resource and learning for both sides. So we appreciate that time. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Any other questions or discussion?
026All right. Um then I'm before journeying I just want to um notice that Dr. Pusca and do Mr. Dyer attended via Teams. Um and at this time I'm going to close and adjourn the meeting. The time is 11:22. >> Oh, sorry. >> Sorry. We have to vote on it. >> No, we didn't vote. Sorry. We have to vote. >> Vote. >> I didn't g I didn't go. We're good. All right. I'll take a vote for those that would like to um advertise for the trim notices. All those say I. >> I. >> All right. Anyone opposed? >> Opposed. >> Okay. It passes 41. Um I'm going to adjourn the meeting now. Is that okay? All right. 11:22.