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Pasco Schools Freeze Hiring

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By RONNIE BLAIR

rblair@tampatrib.com

Published: December 3, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino announced a hiring freeze Tuesday as part of an effort to save money in the face of a mounting budget shortfall.

The hiring freeze came a day after Pasco County School Board members held a budget workshop and said they may need a Plan A, B and C as they deal with state funding cuts where the dollar amounts keep changing.
Assistant Superintendent Renalia DuBose sent an e-mail to district administrators Tuesday afternoon to inform them of the hiring freeze. Advertisements for current openings will be canceled, and no job offers can be made on advertisements that have already closed.

A few advertisements will continue to run because of the necessity of the job or the funding source, DuBose wrote, but no position can be filled without Fiorentino's approval.

The hiring freeze comes at a time when the possibility of layoffs is being raised as the school board considers how to make major cuts to an already tight budget.

"This thing is getting uglier quickly," board Chairman Frank Parker said during Monday's budget workshop.

Parker said a second workshop is going to be necessary, calling for one Dec. 16. He also raised the specter of layoffs, something board members had previously said they want to avoid.

"We're getting to the point where it's going to be jobs," Parker said. "I hate to say that, but we're there."

Here's what the board members know so far about the shifting numbers coming from Tallahassee:

As of Nov. 11, the Pasco County School District's budget shortfall is $8.7 million. That's on top of $16 million the school board already cut from the general fund when the fiscal year began.

District staff has figured out ways to cut about half that amount through unfilled positions, hiring delays when positions are filled, fuel savings and other cost-trimming efforts, according to Olga Swinson, the district's chief finance officer.

The staff is looking to school board members for suggestions on ways to cut the other half.

An even bigger hit to the budget could be coming, though.

The state is now expecting an additional revenue shortfall of $1.5 billion. About $500 million of that would come from school district budgets. Pasco's estimated share of that would be between $10 million and $15 million, Swinson said.

That equates to about 320 to 440 jobs, she said.

Any budget cuts would come from the district's general fund, which pays for the day-to-day operation of the schools. Salaries and benefits account for about 85 percent of the general fund.

Board member Joanne Hurley said sports, staff development and administrative costs are among the areas the district should review for possible cuts. She said some schools may need to cut the number of assistant principals, something the district has balked at.

The 2009-10 budget could be even worse, Fiorentino said. State officials have said revenue for next year is expected to be at the 2005-06 level, when the district had 13 fewer schools, 4,000 fewer students and 1,500 fewer employees.

Meanwhile, during the next two weeks, representatives of United School Employees of Pasco plan to meet with Fiorentino and district administrators to make their own suggestions about budget priorities and cost-saving measures.

In an e-mail sent to its members Tuesday, the union said its goal is to avoid layoffs and preserve the economic interests of teachers and other school employees.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218.

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