School building, repair face a freeze

Florida's schools, community colleges and state universities could be forced to halt, or put off for years, scores of new construction projects, including repairs on roofs and air-conditioners because of a dramatic drop in available state money.

State officials are so worried about the decline that they took the unusual step Thursday of stopping payments to some projects, including some that may only be halfway completed.

Officials were gathering information on which projects need to cease.

And Gov. Rick Scott has asked schools and colleges return up to $250 million to the state.

In Tampa Bay, school officials said that they do not know whether the halt on funding applies to all projects or only those in which contracts haven't been signed.

Hillsborough schools will not be affected because the district doesn't have any projects going, said spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.

The University of South Florida might lose money designated for maintenance and repair, said USF lobbyist Mark Walsh.

He did not know how the freeze might affect plans to build USF Polytechnic's new campus on Interstate 4, which is USF's only major project now.

Hillsborough Community College stands to lose $3.6 million in maintenance money, possibly $9 million if the colleges and universities lose money for projects already contracted out.

"There's still a lot of unanswered questions" about what will be affected,'' said HCC spokeswoman Ashley Carl. "The possible impact is really, really troubling."

Carl said the order could bring a halt to needed repairs. "It's roof repairs, ensuring things are brought up to code, updating lighting. It's everything," she said.

Scott made his request because a new forecast shows the state will have zero new construction dollars available for schools and colleges for the next two years. In order to cover projects already approved, the governor wants to use money that may be left over from other construction jobs.

"Due to this significant shortfall, it has become necessary for difficult decisions to be made on which projects may be funded and which must be discontinued at this point in time," Scott wrote in a letter he sent to top education officials Tuesday.

The governor made the request for schools to give him back construction money on the same day he publicly urged lawmakers to increase spending on daily operations for schools by $1 billion.

Scott said he wants to work with lawmakers to deal with the construction money shortfall, but it comes when top Republican legislators are at odds over the state budget.

Legislators are confronted with a nearly $2 billion shortfall. A majority of state senators have signed a letter saying they are willing to wait until later in the year before passing a budget. If the economy improves, lawmakers can avoid making deep budget cuts. The state's fiscal year doesn't start until July and usually the Legislature does not pass its annual budget until early May.

But House Republicans want to work on the budget during the regular session that began Tuesday instead of waiting. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, said Friday the House budget will include a "solution" to the school construction money shortfall.

Currently, the state primarily uses money from a tax charged on utilities and cable bills to pay for school construction projects, though in the past they have also used money from lottery ticket sales and even from the state's sales tax.

State lawmakers use part of the utility tax to pay for maintenance and repair projects at public schools, colleges and universities.

But they also pledge part of the money to pay off bonds that have been used to pay for new school buildings.

Scott last year vetoed a long list of school building projects, although not money for a controversial branch campus of the University of South Florida in Lakeland. Scott vetoed the projects because he was worried about a sharp decline in the tax proceeds used for construction.

In his memo this week, Scott said that despite his veto the drop "exceeded most projections" and has left the state unable to borrow any more money.

Scott asked that state education officials give him a list by Feb. 7. The list is to spell out if there is unused money left over from older construction projects that can be shifted to cover the $250 million worth of projects that have been approved but not yet funded.

Meanwhile, Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson and State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan on Thursday sent out a memo to school superintendents and college and university presidents telling them that payments for new projects were being suspended because of the shortfall.

The memo stated that the suspension will remain in effect until the Florida Legislature provides further direction.

However, the suspension does not apply to previously approved contracts.

Linda Champion, deputy commissioner for finance and operations at the education department, insisted that it was a "temporary suspension" that should not have any significant effect although the state does not yet have an exact total of how many projects will be halted.

Champion, however, conceded that the suspension could affect projects that may not be finished.

Many times school districts and universities have spread out their projects over several years between land acquisition, planning, and construction.

She said that between now and Feb. 7 her department would do a survey to find out the exact status of ongoing construction projects.

"The temporary suspension is to merely give us time that would be useful in making decisions," Champion said.