Loading...
CCMtg04-26-11Min(SM) LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION Longwood City Commission Chambers `-� 175 West Warren Avenue Longwood, Florida SPECIAL. MEETING MINUTES APRIL 26 2011 5:00 P.M. Present: Mayor John C. Maingot Deputy Mayor Bob Cortes Commissioner Joe Durso Commissioner H.G. "Butch" Bundy Commissioner Brian Sackett ,Ton Williams, Acting City Administrator Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk Patrice C. Murphy, Assistant to City Administrator Michelle Longo, Executive Assistant to City Administrator Troy Hickson, Police Chief 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Maingot called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. He then led in a moment of Silent Meditation and it was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. BRIEFING BY THE ACTING CI'T'Y ADIVIINISTRAI['OR, MR. JON WILLIAMS RELATIVE TO HIS MEETING WITH THE SEMINOLE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT, DR. BILL VOGEL IN REGARDS TO LONGWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Mr. Williams said as indicated by Mayor Maingot, he met this morning with Dr. Bill Vogel and the Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Mr. George Kosmac; and the Mayor and representatives from the Finance and Budget Department from Seminole County Public Schools. He said the objective for the meeting today was to establish and understand the time lines for funding needed before making any final decision on suspending the operations of Longwood Elementary School. He said there was a small window of opportunity and Dr. Vogel was planning to make a recommendation on May 10 to start the redistricting process. He said L this would allow the District to stay within the statuary guidelines established for the schools. He said the final decision on the operations CC 04- 26- 11/119 and the postponement of operations would not be made until June 14 He said the goal in terms of funding for the next year remains at $1 million. He said the efforts locally were to try and get the Legislature thru Senator David Simmons to allow the School Board to levy the additional .25 mills for critical operating needs that if passed would immediately reverse the recommendation to suspend the operations at Longwood Elementary School. He noted there was an overwhelming amount of community support and interest in doing whatever was necessary to save the School. He said the Mayor and he were approached yesterday by a very prominent and long -time business owner who was willing to assist in exploring the options to develop a funding model that would not only benefit Longwood Elementary School, but the entire School District. He stated those were the results of the meeting today. Mayor Maingot said he could add that, the main objective today other than determining exactly what funds they had to raise to save the day, and was $1 million. He stated that he wanted to see if they could possibly buy some time to put into effect the fundraising opportunities that presented themselves as a result of some meetings they've had within the last twenty -four (24) hours. He said they were told at the School Board's next meeting, which was on May 10 th , if he was able to present a plan of action for the fundraising that, in actual fact, would hold the hand on the redistricting. He said on June 14 they would give more in depth details as to where they were in pursuant to raising $1 million. He said they were fully committed to seize every opportunity and to turn over every stone to find the necessary funding to save the School. He said the City Commission works as a team, and they have all their areas of contacts and have their specialties within themselves. He said in times of need, they come together as one with and be assured they shall collectively be victorious and overcome the difficulties being presented to them. He said as they have done with their Commuter Rail Station, they were the leaders and were more advanced than any of the other online stations in the entire future operation of SunRail. He said what they were doing for Longwood Elementary School can be used as an example for other schools within Seminole County, because based on what they heard this morning, there was a great possibility for others to follow. He stated they were paving the way for others to follow. He congratulated everyone for the demonstrated commitment and tenacity, which they have started and continue on day- after -day and night- after - night. He stated that gives a tremendous amount of inspiration to everyone at large and they intend to reach out to everyone within Longwood and beyond Longwood if the opportunity presents itself to save the School. CC 04 -26- 11/120 r 3. DISCUSSION BY THE CITE' COMMISSION CONCERNING THE - ]BIZIEFING. Commissioner Sackett said that he has been doing a lot of research as to what's going on and inquired about what happens when a community school closes. He said what would it look like and what would be the impact. He said that he was a Teacher at Woodland Elementary School and if it did close, they would welcome them wholeheartedly at Woodlands. He said he did have some questions and read a 2006 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) study that talks about the socioeconomic impact of closing a small school in a city of about 15,000. He said Longwood Elementary School and Woodlands Elementary School were the two (2) Schools that serve our City primarily. He said what it stated was it couldn't fix the numbers as to what it would do with housing costs, but it would basically change the climate of the neighborhood. He said when you look at that, you have to look at the social change. He said you'll see more bussing for instance, where you used to see children walking to school. He provided further examples of other areas that would be impacted. He said he was aware that the City reached out to the Seminole County Property Appraiser, Mr. David Johnson, and said an Ohio study showed that property values decrease by 9.9% and they take in many factors. He said the 9.9% they would have to look at it as a City budget item due to loss revenue. He said Longwood Elementary School was a Title One School. He stated this means they receive special funding because there was a certain percentage of students that receive free or reduced lunches and inquired how that would have an impact. He said he would like to inquire about the magnet schools and noted they have bussing. He also inquired how much would it cost for bussing and would be increasing the busing by moving the students elsewhere. He also brought up the DARE Program at Longwood Elementary School, and said it would be a cost savings and noted it was negative cost savings as far as he saw it. He said he would be intrigued about the timeline for the .25 mills for critical needs and asked about the timeline for it. Mayor Maingot said it would have to be approved by the Legislature in Tallahassee before they could put into effect by a supermajority vote. Commissioner Sackett asked about the timeline for the .25 mills being proposed. CC 04 -26- 11/121 Mayor Maingot stated they have been in contact with Senator David Simmons and they were trying to expedite it. George Kosmac Deputy Superintendent of Operations for Seminole County Public Schools, 400 East Lake Mary Boulevard, Sanford,, said Dr. Vogel has been working with Senator Simmons to find a creative way for the School Board to extend the .25 mill, Critical Operating Need Millage, which for the past two (2) years has been a part of everyone's tax bill, and was due to expire at the end of this year. He said what they would like to do was to have the Legislature authorize local school boards with a supermajority vote to extend that millage for another two (2) years. He said that if the School Board approves the millage, then it will keep the taxes at the same level and it would generate each year about $6.3 million. He said that would be sufficient to continue the operations at Longwood Elementary School. He outlined the timeframe and noted the Legislature would have to get it into the budget and then Governor Rick Scott would have to approve it. He noted that perhaps it may be a long shot, but it wasn't unheard of. He said Senator Simmons had been intrigued by this idea and was taking it to the Senate President, Mike Haridopolos this week. Commissioner Bundy asked what the odds were of the Governor to sign this since he was committed to reducing the millage rate for schools. Mr. Kosmac said that it was a tough one to predict. He stated the Governor said he would not approve any budget unless there was a tax decrease and this causes everyone to be concerned about the budget. He said the important thing was this would not be an increase; it would keep taxes flat and hopefully meet the test of the Governor to not approve any tax increases but does not address the tax decreases. Commissioner Durso said he has worked in Tallahassee and said it would be viewed as a tax increase. He said the Legislature and the Governor were not likely to let this go and the Speaker of the House, Dean Cannon put out a memo today that stated no additional legislation would be heard over the course of the legislative session. He said they would take bills that were currently passing in the House and they will send them to the Senate. He said they would take bills the last week of session and would hear them in the House. He said the Speaker cautioned Members about using the amendatory process. He inquired what chance a .25 mill has, and asked has the School Board looked at any alternatives to allow the CC 04 -26- 11/122 School to stay. open. He inquired about the School Board budget and said it was going through a lot. Mr. Kosmac responded stating the budget was approximately $427 million. He then outlined the amount of money the School Board had already cut from the previous year's budget and the deficit the School Board would be facing in the upcoming school year. He then reviewed the costs for diesel fuel, the changes that would be made to the bus stops for magnet students, and merit pay for teachers that was coming down from the Legislature. Discussion ensued regarding transportation costs and property values declining, that surround Longwood Elementary School if the School suspends its operations. Commissioner Bundy asked why the School Board didn't go for the .25 mill referendum last year. He said he knew they chose to go for the continuation of the penny sales tax, but that was for capital projects. He stated the .25 millage was for operational. He asked when the School Board was going to stop using non - recurring funds for recurring expenses. He stated to him there seems to be a mind -set change. Mr. Kosmac said in order to continue the .25 mill they would have had to put it on the ballot. He noted some districts did and most of them lost the property increase. He stated there were sixteen (16) of the sixty -seven (67) Counties that managed to keep it. He said the School'Board looked at that possibility of raising property taxes the .25 mill versus a sales tax, which would have raised $26 million a year. He said the Board felt the half cent sales tax was a fairer way to raise revenue. He continued to discuss the possible use of the sales tax to off -set operational expenses as established by the Legislature. Discussion was held regarding the amount of money the City has contributed to the schools in the area and was now looking to the City for financial support in order to avoid the closing of Longwood Elementary School. Deputy Mayor Cortes said when he became aware of the proposed School closing, he contacted the School Board and they said this was a Legislative problem. He then contacted the Legislature who said it was a School Board problem and said this boils down to money. He said staff's recommendation was what will make this go, and they will make the CC 04 -26- 11/123 decision based on facts presented to them. He said he feels the staff needed to go deeper into the problem. He said that it's not only going to impact the parents and students, but the people in the entire community. J He stated they needed to look a little deeper into the budget to find something that doesn't impact a community and fix the problem. He provided the example of Dr. Russo retiring from Longwood Elementary School and noted by not filling that position they could save $100,000. He then discussed the cost of diesel fuel and said there would be an additional cost for bussing students. He then inquired about the status of the Title One for Longwood Elementary School. Discussion was held regarding the status of the Title One for Longwood Elementary, which was the free or reduced lunch program and the rezoning of students to surrounding schools. Discussion continued regarding the .25 mill being presented to the Legislature by Senator Simmons and placing the matter on the ballot in November 2011. Deputy Mayor Cortes said that he had a personal interest in the Longwood Elementary School because it was in his District and feels due to the ramification of losing the School, the City would not be able to recover from this loss. He stated two of his children went to this School and asked that Mr. Kosmac take back to his staff all the input that the parents were, providing to him, along with the City Commission. He said they love Longwood Elementary School and do not want to lose it. Mr. Kosmac said that nobody at the School District wants to see an A- rated School for eleven (11) years in a row close. He said the School Board still had a decision to make and it was not made at this point of time. He said they were looking at finding alternative ways to see if they can close that gap. Commissioner Sackett said that if he looked at $20,000 and asked the schools within the District if they could take a $20,000 hit for one (1) year to save one (1) school within our County. He suggested this be done the next time Mr. Kosmac met with the principals of the schools and request them to cut their budgets by $20,000 each. He said you needed to give parents breathing room to plan if things change. He stated it's not fair or right to do this to the families. CC 04 -26- 11/124 I �-- Commissioner Bundy said in 1998, a point was made at the School Board Meeting the other night that the Mazda dealership donated a piece of land to the School Board. He said the City deliberated for the negotiations of that land and the wooded area between the car dealership and the School. He then distributed copies of the Quit Claim Deed for the property and stated, before the School Board looked at either selling or leasing the property, the property had to be used as a playground or if the trees were removed, the ownership would revert back to the City of Longwood. He then provided examples of previous ways the City has tried to assist the School District and it did not work out or they were turned down. Commissioner Durso moved to bring forward a resolution on Monday that declares that they ask the Seminole - County School Board to keep the School open for all- additional=• year- ,and that building a partnership to address this issue is a critical part of the School's survival, clearly stating that the City of Longwood is fully committed to doing whatevefit can to keep the School open, and asking the School Board to 7 make the - :same commitment. Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Maingot said the Acting City Administrator and he have already initiated discussions with senior people within the commercial sector that were located in the City and were looking for opportunities which were discussed earlier in the day with the Chief of Police. He requested the Commission give the Acting City Administrator and him a vote so that they could move forward in their extensive negotiations in order to be focused on raising the $1 million that was needed. Commissioner Durso moved to have the Mayor and Acting City Administrator represent the City through the direction of the City Commission and cannot commit to anything without City Conunission approval. Seconded by Commissioner Sackett Discussion was held by the City Commission regarding the pending motion. Motion was approved by a unanimous roll call vote. CC 04 -26- 11/125 Discussion was held regarding the motion that was approved at tonight's Commission Meeting. Mayor Maingot thanked Mr. Kosmac for taking the punches this evening and for answering the Commission's questions and concerns. He said in conclusion, the commitment of the Commission was to stand with you, to work with you, and to support with the ultimate victory in saving Longwood Elementary School. 4. ADJOURN. Mayor Maingot adjourned the meeting at 6:16 p.m. #0P ATTEST: Sarah IVY. Mirus, MAW, MBA, City Clerk CC 04 -26- 11/126