MIAMI-DADE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES FIRST READING OF 2015-2016 TENTATIVE BUDGET

Miami – The Miami-Dade School Board approved the first reading of the school district’s tentative budget during its July budget public hearing. The proposed budget reflects fiscal priorities which include providing students with expanded, innovative course offerings, creating a fund reserve for employee salaries, giving homeowners additional tax relief, and ensuring that the economic viability of the school system remains sound and robust.

“Once again, Miami-Dade County Public Schools is demonstrating that we are an organization whose values drive our budget decisions,” said Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho.

“This budget reflects the policy guidance provided by the Board,” said School Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman.  “It respects our teachers, our students, and our taxpayers. It is evidence of this Board’s fiscal responsibility and commitment to protect educational programs such as the arts and world languages,” she added.  

The tentative $4.83 billion budget increases financial support to Magnet and Choice Programs, Guidance Counseling Services, Exceptional Student Education Services (ESE), Bilingual Services, and Safety and Security. The funding investment to academic initiatives and services will have a significant impact on student learning and overall student achievement. This investment includes the following:

- Increases support for bilingual education by $4M
- Increases counseling and student support services by $3.2M including a reengineering of alternative education programs
- Protects services to students with disabilities and increases contracted services by over $1M
- Expands Information Technology support to schools by over $4M
- Enhances classroom technology with an investment of $27M
- Expands secondary school schedule to eight period day at up to eight additional schools at a cost of $6M

Under the proposed budget, Magnet and Choice Programs will increase by 53 new offerings to students.  Also, the school district has created a $30 million collective bargaining reserve to support teachers and employees. Additionally, the proposed total millage is expected to drop by .362 mill, resulting in nearly a $46 reduction in homeowner taxes based on an assessment of $184,000. The reduction is the largest property tax reduction for a typical homeowner since the District began tracking this impact in the early 1990s. Protecting the financial health and stability of the District is fundamental to budget planning decisions.
 
The Miami-Dade County School Board will hold the final public hearing on the 2015-2016 tentative budget on September 9, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. in the School Board Administration Building auditorium.

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