The Florida Senate

237.081  Public hearings; budgets to be submitted to Department of Education.--

(1)  The school board of each district must cause a summary of its tentative budget, including the proposed millage levies as provided for by law, and graphs illustrating a historical summary of financial and demographic data, to be advertised at least one time as a full-page advertisement in the newspaper with the largest circulation published in the district or to be posted at the courthouse door if there be no such newspaper.

(2)(a)  The advertisement must include a graph illustrating the historical summary of financial and demographic data for each of the following data values which shall be plotted along the vertical axis of each graph:

1.  Total revenue provided to the school district from all sources for the corresponding fiscal year, including all federal, state, and local revenue.

2.  Total revenue provided to the school district for the corresponding fiscal year for current operations.

3.  Total revenue provided to the school district for the corresponding fiscal year for fixed capital outlay projects.

4.  Total revenue provided to the school district for the corresponding fiscal year for debt service.

5.  Total number of unweighted full-time equivalent students, inclusive of all programs listed in s. 236.081.

6.  Total revenue provided to the school district for current operations divided by the number of unweighted full-time equivalent students for the corresponding fiscal year.

7.  Total number of employees of the school district for the corresponding fiscal year.

8.  Total number of employees of the school district classified as instructional personnel under s. 228.041 for the corresponding fiscal year.

(b)  Each graph must include a separate histogram corresponding to the financial and demographic data for each of the following fiscal years, which shall be plotted along the horizontal axis of each graph:

1.  Current fiscal year.

2.  Fiscal year that is 5 years before the current fiscal year.

3.  Fiscal year that is 10 years before the current fiscal year.

(c)  The numeric value of the financial and demographic data corresponding to each histogram must be included in each graph.

(3)  The advertisement of a district that has been required by the Legislature to increase classroom expenditures pursuant to s. 236.08102 must include the following statement:


"This proposed budget reflects an increase in classroom expenditures as a percent of total current operating expenditures of XX percent over the (previous fiscal year) fiscal year. This increase in classroom expenditures is required by the Legislature because the district has performed below the required performance standard on XX of XX student performance standards for the (previous school year) school year. In order to achieve the legislatively required level of classroom expenditures as a percentage of total operating expenditures, the proposed budget includes an increase in overall classroom expenditures of $XX,XXX,XXX above the amount spent for this same purpose during the (previous fiscal year) fiscal year. In order to achieve improved student academic performance, this proposed increase is being budgeted for the following activities: (list activities and amount budgeted)."

(4)  The advertisement shall appear adjacent to the advertisement required pursuant to s. 200.065. The Commissioner of Education may adopt rules necessary to provide specific requirements for the format of the advertisement.

(5)  The board shall hold public hearings to adopt tentative and final budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. The hearings shall be primarily for the purpose of hearing requests and complaints from the public regarding the budgets and the proposed tax levies and for explaining the budget and proposed or adopted amendments thereto, if any. The school board shall then require the superintendent to transmit forthwith two copies of the adopted budget to the Department of Education for approval as prescribed by law and regulations of the state board.

History.--s. 1070, ch. 19355, 1939; CGL 1940 Supp. 892(389); s. 8, ch. 22839, 1945; s. 16, ch. 67-387; ss. 15, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 69-300; s. 167, ch. 72-221; s. 21, ch. 75-284; s. 34, ch. 80-274; s. 1, ch. 98-212; s. 6, ch. 2001-157.

Note.--Former s. 237.12.