Pinellas school budget has room to grow

LARGO Four new magnet programs, two new schools, a major remodeling project and new technology in every classroom are a few of the items on the Pinellas County school districts spending list for this school year.

School board members approved a nearly $1.3 billion budget for the 2014-15 school year, as well as a lower tax rate, during the final public hearing Tuesday.

Two years of tight budgeting under Superintendent Michael Grego has helped reverse the school districts trend of spending more money than it takes in, he said. Balancing the budget, and drawing more students into county schools with new programs, allowed the district to launch new programs and to open its first new schools in a decade, he said.

Im incredibly proud that this is the first time in three years our budget is in the black, were building our contingency as a district and keeping our fingers on the pulse of our improvement, Grego said.

The school districts general operating fund, which pays for day-to-day operations and salaries, increased about $8.9 million this year to $881 million.

The district also will receive an extra $24.9 million in state funding, though much of that money is earmarked for special projects, budget specialist LouAnn Jourdan said.

About $1.1 million of the state funding will ensure schools meet the technology requirement for online testing and classrooms assignments under the new Florida Standards, which will be adopted fully next school year.

The increase also has to pay for 16 schools to remain open for an additional half-hour a day for reading intervention because of students low Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test reading scores, a requirement from the Department of Education for the lowest-performing 300 schools in the state.

Overall, the district has a slightly smaller budget than last years $1.33 billion. The district received less from the state for construction and maintenance projects. It has trimmed its capital budget to $267 million compared with last years $301.8 million.

Palm Harbor University High is adding 38 classrooms, eliminating the need for portables. The $13 million project could be completed by June.

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Pinellas school budget has room to grow