Monroe County school board members adopted a tentative budget with a tax increase during a July 29 meeting in Key West.
Specifically, the board set a tentative millage rate of 2.9470, which will raise $167 million. A taxpayer with a home valued at $500,000 last year with a homestead exemption of $25,000 and the maximum allowed increase in assessment (2.9 percent or $14,500) will pay an additional $82.16, or 6.04% more in school taxes than they did in fiscal year 2024-25.
Like many businesses in the Florida Keys, the Monroe County school district also faces challenges with seasonal income and cash management. Having enough cash on hand to meet hurricane emergencies and payroll are top issues for Charlene White, school district finance director.
School districts receive money from the state based on a formula described in the Florida Education Finance Program. The program tries to equalize per-student spending across the state to make up for economic differences among school districts.
Some districts get 90% of their funding from the state. However, Monroe County is one of eight in the state that gets 10% of its total funds from the state. The majority of funds for education in this county come from property taxes. That income primarily arrives to the school district all at once in December. It’s like running a business that only has income one month of the year. Bills have to be paid when they happen. Unexpected repairs, project payments and many other expenditures come in lumps and defy a smooth budget process.
Because of this, the Monroe County School District typically runs short of cash in September and needs a source of short-term funds. This is common among municipal taxing authorities.
In 2021, the school board was able to get a private loan for $15 million until the tax funds came in. In 2022 and 2023 the board used bank loans for $25 million and $20 million. This year, board members are being advised by Ford & Associates Wealth Management to do a competitive public offering, essentially a short-term note, for $20 million starting in August.
During the July 29 meeting, board member John Dick suggested it might be wise to wait until after the September meeting of the Federal Reserve when interest rates might be lower, but White replied that she would rather have the money in place to make sure the district could meet payroll.
“It is important to emphasize that this timing issue is not due to a lack of reserves — the district’s financial position remains strong. As of June 30, our total fund balance is projected at $29.4 million, with an estimated unassigned fund balance of $27 million, representing 18.03% of total revenues.”
A budget workshop will be held at Coral Shores High School on Aug. 19. A final budget hearing is scheduled for the Sept. 9 meeting at Marathon High School.
In other matters, the board received a detailed statistical report on many of the factors that led to the district recently receiving an “A” grade from the Florida Department of Education. Yanelys Ballard, who recently joined the district as the director of accountability and assessment, discussed gains in specific content areas at specific schools.
School board members examined charts that in some cases described what are 26 areas of measurement at eight K-8 schools and 26 different areas of measurement at the high school level.
The Department of Education grades are based on a series of statewide assessments including the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, end-of-course assessments, statewide science assessments and writing examples. Students take various tests during different school years and are looked at both as a group as they go from year to year and as a school.
Key Largo School is now an A-rated school, joining Poinciana Elementary and Plantation Key schools. The B-rated schools are Gerald Adams Elementary, Stanley Switlik Elementary, Sugarloaf and the three high schools.
There were notable increases in mathematics in the district’s elementary schools.
The board discussed Horace O’Bryant School in Key West and its unique challenges. HOB, as it is known, is the only C-rated school in the district. It has a large percentage of students who are learning English and the enrollment is declining. The middle school is much larger than the elementary school. Members of the district staff described the targeted efforts for special training and support of the teachers and staff.
Board members also focused on the results of advanced placement testing. There is a difference among the high schools in the district because Key West and Marathon high school students have more opportunities for dual enrollment with the College of the Florida Keys. When students pass dual-enrollment classes, they earn credit for that class within the Florida higher education system, but not necessarily in schools outside the state.
Students at Coral Shores High School have fewer opportunities for dual enrollment, so they take more advanced placement classes than the other two schools. Students in advanced placement classes earn weighted grades on their GPA, but they don’t get college credit for the course unless they pass a standardized examination at the end of the school year. When they pass the standardized advanced placement test with a grade of 3 or better, they earn university credit in that subject that is recognized in and outside of Florida.
Board member Sue Woltanski pointed out that specific teachers in certain schools make the difference in how well students do on the standardized advanced placement tests. For example, 49 students took the test for advanced placement calculus at Coral Shores and 100% of them received a grade of 3 or higher. The other two high schools combined had 82% of the 61 students taking the exam get a high enough score to earn credit.
