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By Martie Thompson In addition to federal, state and local races on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot, St. Johns County voters will have a decision to make that will impact the future of schools in the county. Two local referenda, located at the end of a lengthy ballot, ask voters to decide whether to continue a half cent sales tax to be used for building new schools and also whether to approve an extra mill to be used for operating expenses, specifically and mostly for employee salary supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwo items of importance to the school district are on the ballot for voters to consider,\u201d said St. Johns County School Superintendent Tim Forson at a community meeting held at Bartram Trail High School on Sept. 30. \u201cAnd they both have to do with growth. Growth in our school system is inevitable; it\u2019s part of who we are the past 15 years and will likely be for the next 15 years as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his part of the presentation, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen explained that the St. Johns County population has doubled since 2005 and so, too, has the student population. The half-cent sales tax, approved by voters for a 10-year term in 2015, is up for renewal. Asplen pointed out that the two referenda address two different funding sources (capital outlay for school construction and operational budget) since, per Florida Statute, money can\u2019t be taken from one to pay for the other. The half-cent sales tax provides approximately $37 million annually, which pays for things like new school construction, maintenance ($25 million annually), school safety, and new technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to note that construction costs have increased 63 percent over the past few years,\u201d Asplen said. \u201cPine Island Academy, built just four years ago, cost $38 million. Trout Creek Academy, built using the same blueprint, cost $62 million.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asplen said that a Citizen\u2019s Advisory Committee will continue to monitor and advise on expenditures. Visit www.halfcentsuccess.com for a full list of projects funded by the half-cent sales tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other referendum is new to St. Johns County, but not to many other counties in the state, including Duval, Clay and Nassau: an additional mill added to property taxes for teacher and staff pay. One mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, less homestead. St. Johns County School District Chief of Staff Michael Degutis handled this part of the presentation, and said 85 percent of funds would be used to recruit and retain high quality teachers and staff. He said that over the past several years, the Florida legislature has reduced local school millage by nearly two mills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are facing operational challenges,\u201d Degutis said. \u201cThe school district is by far the largest employer in St. Johns County, but we have historic vacancy levels for teachers and staff as we offer less compensation than neighboring districts since they already have the additional mill and the money that brings in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Degutis said that the remaining 15 percent of funds raised through the additional mill would go to other specific operating expenses: school safety, student welfare (school nurses, which are not funded by the state) and enhanced programming for students (to include music, arts and technology.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n School Board District 1 member Beverly Slough also attended the community meeting and she encouraged attendees to vote for both of the referenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a critical decision. We cannot afford to lose the half penny sales tax because that is what we use to build new schools,\u201d Slough said. \u201cOn the other side, our students are deserving of excellent staff and they are deserving of supplements to their salaries. The additional mill will go a long way to retain all of the quality employees who contribute to the success of our schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n CUTLINE<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo by Martie Thompson\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Martie Thompsoneditor@floridanewsline.com In addition to federal, state and local races on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot, St. Johns County voters will have a decision to make that will impact the future of schools in the county. Two local referenda, located at the end of a lengthy ballot, ask voters to decide whether to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11203","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creekline-st-johns","8":"category-ponte-vedra"},"yoast_head":"\n
editor@floridanewsline.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n