A whole lot of needs and not nearly enough resources to meet those needs—that’s the crux of the problem facing the School Board of Alachua County as it begins the process of budgeting for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

The Board and district staff members will be holding several budget planning sessions this spring. During the first session, the discussion was focused on the district’s facilities needs, including new classrooms and the repair and renovation of existing schools.

Ed Gable, the district’s facilities director, presented preliminary worksheets highlighting both long- and short-term needs within the district. The district currently has about $7 million worth of essential projects planned for the upcoming school year, including heating/air conditioning projects, roofing, security and safety-to-life projects, the relocation of portables and other needs.

“These are the bread and butter projects that must be done every year to keep our facilities operational,” said Gable. “The state refers to them as the projects necessary to maintain existing student stations and support facilities.”

The district’s long-term facilities needs list includes projects totaling more than $430 million, and about 70% of that amount is for repairs and renovations as opposed to new construction. Next year, the district anticipates having about $19.6 million in revenues available for capital needs. After the $7 million dollars worth of “bread and butter” projects are deducted, that leaves about $12.6 million left to begin tackling all the district’s other facilities needs.

“Obviously this amount is just a drop in the bucket compared to our overall needs,” said Keith Birkett, the district’s assistant superintendent for planning and budget. “We’re going to have to look at some other options to fund those projects.”

One possible option is a sales tax. John Carlson is a local businessman who is co-chairing a community-wide committee exploring the feasibility of a sales tax referendum to raise money for schools, roads, recreation and other projects. The committee is working with the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and other local business groups to determine if there is sufficient community support to launch a referendum.

“We are still in the very early stages, and I can’t say that it will definitely happen,” Carlson said during the School Board’s facilities session. “But we do know that citizens would want a very detailed list of the projects that would be done with the sales tax revenue, and that list should touch all areas within the county.”

If the community group decides to go ahead with a sales tax referendum, the School Board would still have to decide whether or not to participate. Superintendent Dan Boyd says he’d be inclined to support the district’s involvement.

“I think this would be a great opportunity for us to work toward the common good in our community,” he said.

One advantage of the sales tax is flexibility—the district would have significant control over how the revenues from a sales tax are spent. Currently the district doesn’t have that kind of flexibility. Only state-approved projects can be done with currently-available revenues, even funds that are collected through local property taxes.

“Many citizens wonder why we don’t build a new high school in west Gainesville, for example,” said Boyd. “The reason is that even if we had the money available, the state wouldn’t allow us to build it because we have high school seats available in other parts of the county.”

The district has been given approval by the state to begin planning for at least two new elementary schools in the western portion of the county. Those schools would likely be built using what are called Certificates of Participation, or COPS, which is basically a funding method that allows districts to pay for a new school over time, much like a mortgage. The district is currently looking at a possible prototype design for the schools, most likely a design for a smaller but expandable school. The goal would be to open during the 2010-11 school year.

School concurrency will also have an impact on the district’s facilities needs. State law requires school districts and municipalities to work together to ensure that there is space available in area schools before a new residential development is approved. As part of concurrency, districts must balance the number of students enrolled at a school with the permanent capacity at that school.

Alachua County Public School staffers have been working with public officials in the county and all the cities within the county for nearly two years to fully implement the law by this summer.

The School Board will hold public hearings on the district’s overall budget during the summer. Under state law, the Board will approve the 2008-09 budget on September 16. Dates of all public meetings will be placed on the district’s website at www2.sbac.edu.