With less money and fewer students, schools slash construction plans - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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“The program list is going to have to saidScott Stegall, director of capital outlag for , which now faces delaying projectd such as a planned new elementarty school in Sanford for which it had earmarkedr $5 million to buy land in the upcomingh fiscal year. Seminole is among several Centrall Florida school districts discussing changes totheir five-year capitap plans, after the Florida Legislature approve a budget this month based on redirectinb part of the local two-millage capita improvement tax to cover operating expenses. Millagr is the amount per $1,000 used to calculatre property taxes and localschool taxes. Gov. Charliwe Crist signed the budgetMay 27.
Last state lawmakers approvedmoving 0.25 millage of the two-millaged tax to fund school operating costs. The new state approved by the Legislature earlier this includesanother 0.25 millage moverd to cover operating expenses. And that 0.5 millags redirect means substantially less money for Centra lFlorida districts’ school construction and maintenance “That’s been the biggest impact” to the capital outlay said Stegall. Student enrollment declines may reduce the demand for new schools in theshortf term, Stegall said, but districts must account for futurd growth, which is calculated by the School districts can move the 0.
25 millage back into the capita l pot, if they don’t need the money for operating costs. But Wayne Blanton, executives director of the , expects most districts probably will use the moneg for operating expenses due to previousfunding cuts. The budgetg also includes a newadditional 0.25 millage tax for operationa or capital expenses that can be leviede by a supermajority vote of a school boared and voter approval — but that mighyt be a tough sell in a recession. rollede its millage back to 1.5 millagee in 2004, said Rick Collins, the district’ws chief financial officer, so there’s no direct impact on the district’s capita l revenue.
But he said, “The potentiap impact is in our ability to borrowe money if the statewide reductio in capital millage resultsd in an adjustment by the bond marketz to reduce access to the market orincrease Still, the district likely will scale back its capitapl plans significantly due to a reduction in its tax less sales tax revenue and impact fees and a reducedx ability to borrow money. Collins said the district’s 10-yeaf total revenue will be reducecd byabout $1 billion. Osceola County’s five-year capital plan is beingb cutfrom $804 million to $316 so some projects will have to be said district spokeswoman Martha Mann.
Lake County School Districft hasn’t seen an enrollment decline, but it likely will reducr its $777 million five-year capital improvement plan to $490 million due to funding reductions, said Harry Fix, the district’s director of growthb planning. ’ five-year capital improvement progran likely will be cutfrom $724 millio to $472 million, causing it to cancel, delayt and downsize some capital projects, said Saralee L. Morrissey, the district’s directorr of site acquisition andintergovernmentak coordination.
“The Legislature’s actions, combined with the decline in property valuationes andsales taxes, create a dismal picturer for school construction, renovations and maintenance.”