School Board Meetings and Budget

At the current rate, my wife, April, and I are in the Race To The Top and leading the pack for the Black Community Presence at School Board Meetings Award for the 2010-2011 School Year.  April attended the meeting on August 17, the week before school started.  We both attended the August 31^st meeting.  It lasted over five hours and included three minutes when the subject was about black males demonstrating academic excellence.  Both April and I plan to attend the September 7 meeting which will include the Final Public Hearing on the School Board budget for this school year. 

One of the items on the School Board September 7 meeting agenda is the tentative schedule of board meetings for the remainder of the current school year.  At most of these meetings, the board will approve spending for items on the agenda.  By the end of the year, they will have approved expenditures totally somewhere in the neighborhood of two-point-four billion dollars for the education of public school students in Hillsborough County. 

 The tentative schedule gives April and me a chance to be present as many as 15 more times when the board approves these expenditures.  One reason we attend these meetings is gain a sense of what the board priorities for spending tax dollars are.  I probably cannot do Sunshine Standard (FCAT) Math, but I figured the district gets $12,398 in revenue for each student.  There are approximately 3,100 black ninth-graders this school year generating over 38 million dollars in revenue for the district.  Four years from now, the district will have received over 150 million dollars if most of these students remain in public schools.

 Budget for the new school year

2.9 billion dollars

Local taxes make up 22% of the Budget Subtotal below:

General Operating	1,678,223,156.55
Special Revenue	$       328,916,642.07
Health Insurance, Workers Comp	$       282,115,467.72
Food Service	$         91,195,928.31
Budget Subtotal	$    2,380,451,194.65
Amount per student	$                12,398.18
Debt Service	$       184,571,917.10
Capital Outlay — new revenue	$       115,106,184.67
New Construction	$       260,937,374.01
Subtotal	$       560,615,475.78
Total Budget	$    2,941,066,670.43

 

Amount per student	$                12,398.18
Number of black 9th graders	3,101
Amount generated for the school district	$         38,446,766.43
Amount over black students’ high school career	$       153,787,065.72

Here is what scares me if April and I win the uncoveted award mentioned above.  Many of today’s 3,100 black ninth-graders and the other 23,000-plus black students will be losers in the Race to the Top.  If we win, that means others from the black community did not sit before the board as it decided how to spend money on its priorities.  Without black faces in the audience,  questions like, “How does this money affect the education of–and outcomes for–black students?” rarely make it on the School Board agenda. 

 During some of my fellowships with students this school year, I will give them copies of the School Board meeting schedule and budget highlights.  I will seek out the wisdom of children to help me understand how April and I are leading in the race for the award for Black Community Presence at School Board Meetings.  Seems like a church, fraternity, sorority or another entity should be getting the honor.

 In His Service,

Jason

Explore posts in the same categories: a. Gather Info, Achievement Data, b. Share info, e. Build capacity, Guidance, Opportunities, School Board, What If

Tags: agenda items, black males, board schedule, budget, RTTT, School Board

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