A few members of the School Board are no longer willing to rubberstamp budget information given to them by the school district administration.
It now has a Audit Analysis Committee, for example, that is taking a closer look at the budget for the government schools. The committee is made up of seven volunteers who do not work for the school system.
Since its inception, the committee has met about ten times, and recently delivered an analysis of the $2.7 billion 2023 budget to the School Board.
School Board members absent from the meeting were Kelly Coker, Warren Jones and Lori Hershey.
Those attending were presented with a comparison with other large districts in Florida that often are referred to as the “big six.”
In the comparison, Duval spends:
· 81.45% more than average on facilities acquisition and construction
· 36.96% more than average on fiscal services
· 66.17% more than average on pupil transportation services
· 100.22% more than average on administrative technology services.
· 79.72% less than average on community services
Schools in Duval take in $8,368.27 per student but spend $9,047.86. All of the other schools in the comparison also ran a deficit.
The increased spending on facilities is not surprising. Voters accepted a tax increase to build new schools. Duval County’s schools are among the most aged in the state.
But why does it spend twice as much on administrative technology?
Also, why does it spend 80 percent less than other large districts average on “community services.” What are those services and are they necessary?
Finally, why weren’t three liberal members of the board interested enough to attend the presentation?
Board Member Charlotte Joyce deserves credit for getting an outside examination of the finances done and the board majority should press for answers to the questions raised.
