Leon County voters approved two school funding measures Tuesday, but the district still plans to make budget cuts.
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Leon County voters approve two school funding measures, but district still plans budget cuts next yearDistrict leaders explain what's driving those cuts and why the new funding won't cover everything.
Voters backed both measures by wide margins. More than 66% approved the one-mill property tax levy, which will help increase employee compensation. Nearly 68% supported continuing the half-cent sales tax, which pays for school construction and renovations.
But district Communications Director Chris Petley warned in a post on X that cuts this spring could drastically change the district next school year.
I asked Superintendent Rocky Hanna how the district could still face cuts after voters approved more funding.
"The extra money is coming, but yet cuts are still imminent. How do you rectify that with our constituents?"
"The first thing I would tell our voters is thank you. There's really three things that drive or pull our purse springs. One is the appropriate number of people to do the job, the appropriate number of teachers, number of employees, number of administrators. The second is giving them the tools in the equipment to do provide a high-quality education to our children, instructional technology, the devices for our kids. All of those things. And then the third is the, is the ability to give salary increases to those employees, starting with our teachers," Hanna said.
Scott Mazur leads the Leon Classroom Teachers Association. He says families trying to keep up with their own bills may recognize the district's struggle.
"I can understand why people would be thinking why they're still gonna be cuts. The issue is everyone's dealing with the same economy, right? So as you're dealing with increased in fuel cost, the school district is doing so with their buses," Mazur said.
Hanna says universal school vouchers and cuts to state funding are the main reasons the district still needs to reduce spending.
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