TAMPA, Fla. — “$361 million to underwater."
That’s how State Board of Education members described Hillsborough County finances over the past ten years.
“These budgets being underwater is your fault, you’re the board,” board member Andy Tuck said to Hillsborough County School Board Chair Lynn Gray.
Hillsborough County Public Schools' new Superintendent Addison Davis says he started 16 months ago. He says the district’s fund balance was 50 million dollars in the red last March. With the help of COVID-19 relief funds, job cuts, hiring freezes and furloughs, he says district funding is now projected to be at a “positive $84 million” by the fall.
"These were very hard decisions we had to make," Davis said. "They were unpopular, but ones we had to make to protect the organization and openly put students first every day.”
Another unpopular decision district leaders are having to answer for?
Voting not to renew the contracts for four charter schools in the district.
"I do not understand why some grown-ups are trying to close my school,” one charter school student said at the meeting.
District leaders say they made the choice because of school performance issues and failure to meet federal guidelines.
"The board found some areas they believe that the charter schools did not fit that criteria,” Davis said.
After the decision was made, the board of education commissioner sent a letter to the district questioning the legality of the district not to renewing, giving the charters 90 days notice.
“You would never close a non-charter public school on 90-days notice," said Board of Education member Tom Grady. "Disrupt 2,236 students and their families.”
But some families support the district’s decision, saying they think the focus should go into improving non-charter public schools with additional funding to make them more appealing for everyone.
"The state of Florida is trying to usurp that and take over and make decisions that should be made at a local level," said Hillsborough parent Brita Wilkins Lincoln. "We elected our school board, we should be commending them for taking a look a close look at all the local schools and how they're educating our children."
At the meeting today, board of education members voted to keep an eye on the district’s finances by requiring that they send a monthly summary report for all governmental funds, with a breakdown of their budget and spending.
The school board has a special called meeting set next Tuesday to discuss the state’s response to the school board’s charter decision and how to move forward.
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