Charter schools poised to get dedicated capital funding

ORLANDO, Fla. — Only 15 percent of the schools in Florida are charter schools. Now there is a plan in the works to create a dedicated funding source for charter school capital projects.

Sen. David Simmons (R) of Longwood is proposing a pair of bills to address school funding (SB 604), and provide a dedicated funding source for charter schools (SB 376).

“We are in a crisis situation regarding capital expenditures of our school districts,” Simmons said at a Senate Education Committee meeting this week. “We need to come up with a system that is a fair methodology; this seems to be the best.”

The senator’s plan is twofold: allow schools to raise their "millage rate" from 1.5 to 2 and to dedicate some of that money to charter schools for capital needs.

“It is humiliating the situation that our schools are in by virtue of the restriction that we have  made on the capital outlay millage,” said Simmons.

Since 2011, superintendents across the state have been pushing the legislature to raise the millage rate back to pre-recession levels. Up until the recession of 2008-2009, schools could raise their capital millage rate (assessed value per $1,000) to pay for maintenance and construction, however, that rate was capped at 1.5 by the legislature in an effort to stabilize the economy; Simmons said his bill would un-cap the rate again.

“It essential to give them local control over their future rate than us up here deciding it arbitrarily,” said Simmons.

Despite the backing, SB 604 has been tabled. Simmons asked for the bill to be tabled until the next meeting. He says will allow for some changes to working, putting in guidelines for when a school may raise the rate and for how long.

As for the funding of charter schools, SB 376 is moving on.

The bill passed the Education Committee on Tuesday.

SB 376 would, for the first time, dedicate a funding source to the state’s growing charter school population. The bill allocates the money principally to schools that serve low-income students or those with disabilities. Simmons also said there is language in the bill to prevent private companies from profiting off the tax money.

“There are some good accountability measures for charters in this bill, but I am not sure that any tax increase will have legs,” said Orange County School Board Member Linda Kobert in an email to Eyewitness News.

Simmons stresses that the bills do not represent a tax increase.

The senator said this is simply a move to allow schools to have an option that they used to have. Although, many have already pointed out that allowing school to raise their rates would be a tax increase, just from the school not the state.

“We’re talking about the same taxpayers, regardless of at what level they are being represented,” said Ruth Melton of the Florida School Boards Association. “We are serving hundreds of thousands of more students and the need to build more schools is creating a crisis.”

Cox Media Group