Fresen to propose limits on school construction funding

BY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

The head of the House committee responsible for the state's education budget said in a letter Friday that he will propose cracking down on school construction costs, deepening a conflict with the state's superintendents. Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, contends that school districts are spending more on buildings than allowed under a limit in state law and that the cap --- which is based on the costs of each "student station" at a school --- is itself high. Districts are allowed to exceed the cap if the money comes from some sources, like local half-cent sales taxes.

"My amendment will address the inflated statutory costs per student station and will also ensure that facility costs and caps are not merely a suggestion but are enforceable and adhered to," Fresen wrote in a letter to the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. "I submit to you that as an elected official, I am every bit as responsible as superintendents for ensuring the fiscal responsibility and stewardship of the taxpayers' money." Fresen didn't specify what his proposal would say.

The back-and-forth began during a presentation Fresen gave last month at the House Appropriations Committee, in which he highlighted alleged overruns and said districts' complaints about their need for construction funds were overblown. That prompted a memo from the superintendents' association, dated Monday, questioning the data used in the presentation. "The reality is that Florida school districts have struggled to pay for capital costs for years, especially through the Great Recession," said the memo from Orange County Schools Superintendent Barbara Jenkins, the association's president. " ... Florida superintendents have been good stewards of public tax dollars. Any information shared with the public should be complete and accurate."