State Education Finance Plan PP

Florida State Funding of School Districts – Highlights #2

*There are 67 counties in Florida. Each county only has one public school district. Thus, there are 67 public school districts in the state. In Florida, there are no multiple public school districts operating in any county. Compare this situation to states like Ohio with around 611, Texas with around 1,227, or New York with around 688 school districts. By using the principles of economy of scale and efficiency, Florida is reducing tax payer burden and saving money by operating fewer school districts, thus reducing statewide overhead of operations.

*All Florida public school districts, like the vast majority of U.S. public school districts, are fiscally independent which means that their budgets are separate from the budgets of local city or county governments. This situation is much preferred by school finance people since it prevents or impedes either city or county governments from taking money from a school district’s budget when there is a shortfall with theirs.

*An example of a fiscally dependent school system would be a Catholic parochial school system when there is a school operated by a parish. In this case, the school budget is part of the parish budget, subjecting it to the withdrawal of funds by the parish when there is a need.

*Florida also has 2 types of special school districts, i.e., developmental research (lab) schools, like at FAU in Boca Raton, and the Florida Virtual School (FLVS). These types of special school districts are entirely funded with state funds and receive no local property tax funds.

*Every year local school boards must levy the equalized Required Local Effort (RLE) millage from property taxes, designated by the Florida Commissioner of Education, in order for their school districts to participate in the FEFP and receive funding. While the state average equalized RLE for 2021-2022 is 3.606 mills, for Broward it is 3.530 mills, for Miami-Dade it is 3.729 mills, and for Palm Beach it is 3.621 mills.

It appears that the higher the equalized RLE for a school district, the higher the taxable property values in that district. Funds generated by the equalized RLE are earmarked primarily for the General Fund (General Operating Budget) and not for capital outlay and capital improvement.

The total local funding share of the total FEFP funding is made up of not only the equalized RLE by each school district, but also the levying by each school board of an additional 0.748 mills known as the Discretionary Local Effort. Thus, in 2021-2022 the following become the total millage the following school districts must levy for participation in the FEFP: Broward = 4.278 (3.530 + 0.748 mills), Miami-Dade = 4.477 (3.729 + 0.748 mills), and Palm Beach 4.369 (3.621 + 0.748 mills).

*When looking at my proposed property tax bill for 2021, I see that about 27% of the actual ad valorem taxes levied (excluding non-ad valorem assessments) goes toward Broward County Public Schools. Usually, a similar ratio/percentage may be found in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. About 97% of that 27% is earmarked for the General Fund, with the remaining amount earmarked for a debt service levy associated with capital outlay. In a state like Ohio, for instance, over 50% of one’s ad valorem taxes could easily be earmarked for the local school districts.

*As used in property or ad valorem taxes, 1 mill is equal to $1.00 in property tax levied per $1,000 of a property’s assessed (not market) value. For example, in 2021 the total millage that the local school board of Broward County Public Schools levied was 6.4621 mills. Let’s see how much the following property owner paid in ad valorem or property taxes to this school district when it came to his/her primary domicile:

Assessed (Not Market) Value $250,000

Homestead Exemption - $25,000 (Applies only to primary domicile)

Additional Homestead Exemption - $12,050 (When homeowner meets certain conditions)

Taxable Value = $212,950

Total School Millage Rate X .0064621 (converted to decimals from 6.4621 mills)

School Property Tax Bill = $1,376.10

*The total state constitutional limit of mills that a local school board can levy is 10 mills in any given fiscal year. You can see that Broward County Public Schools was well below this limit: 10 – 6.4621 = 3.5379 mills.

*Florida school boards have the authority to levy additional discretionary millage up to a maximum of 2.498 mills for such purposes as current operations and/or capital improvement without local voter approval. For 2020, the school board of Broward County Public Schools chose only to levy an additional 1.5 mills for capital outlay and capital improvement.

*The Florida State Board of Education may approve plans for cooperating with the federal government in carrying out any phase of the education program and must provide for the proper administration of funds apportioned to the state from federal appropriations.

*Florida school districts receive federal funds either directly, but more often indirectly through the state as an administering agency, e.g., Title 1 and the School Lunch Program.

*In addition to the Department of Education, Florida school districts may receive federal funds from the Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Defense to run programs like career/vocational education, the School Lunch Program, and ROTC respectively.

*Federal funds are typically used to supplement, and not supplant, state and local funds.

*On 3/27/2020, the CARES Act was signed into law to provide significant federal financial support to mediate the impact that COVID-19 has had on schools.

Primary Sources: 2020-21 & 2021-22 Funding for Florida School Districts (PDF) http://www.fldoe.org/fefp

Assessed Property Value - $250,000

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