Florida School Board Discusses Upcoming Budget Vote

By Elise Fisch

The Florida Union Free School District Board of Education held its annual budget hearing followed by a work session meeting on Thurs., May 6 in order to review and approve the finalized budget for the upcoming school year.

The budget hearing was prepared by district accountant Howard Cohen who led the presentation along with supportive input from Superintendent Jan Jehring. The Board began by approving a motion to expend a sum not to exceed $23,537,680 within the 2021-2022 school year, the details of which were made available to the public in a brochure printed and mailed annually to residences within the district.

Cohen and Jehring outlined the goals of the budget process, which emphasized maintaining programs for students, and included other focus areas such as health and safety protocols, maintenance of the building, furniture, and technology, employee pay and benefits, and the dual phases of the capital project.

To put it in broader terms, Cohen broke the budget down into three major categories. The first and largest expenditure of the budget was a program component, which mostly refers to student programs and aid, that totals $17,945,195. The second was the administrative component, consisting of teacher and faculty salaries and benefits in the amount of $2,547,840. Third was the capital component, which refers mostly to the remaining work to be done on the capital project which includes several structural updates to the school grounds and buildings, and came to $3,044,645. These three costs added together account for the entire sum of the budget.

The budget vote and school board election will take place on Tues., May 18 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the S.S. Seward Memorial Building, located at 51 N. Main St. in Florida. The last day to register to vote is May 13. Though the vote will take place in person, applications for absentee ballots may be obtained at the Office of the School District Clerk.

COVID-19 remains a qualifying reason to request an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots must be received by the Office of the District Clerk no later than 5p.m. on May 18.

Following the budget hearing, the Board moved into its work session meeting wherein they discussed the return to school and pandemic-ready plans required by state guidance. The upcoming school year is planned to be fully in-person, still following health and safety protocols, with the option for remote learning so that families may be able to make the choice that is right for them. The pandemic plan the Board developed and published last year will be maintained with no major changes moving into the next school year. These documents are published and available on the Florida school website.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Florida Union Free School District Board of Education will be held on Thurs., May 20 at 7 p.m. in the S.S. Seward cafeteria, located at 51 N. Main St. in Florida.