The strain of trying to fill a possible $30 million hole in the Leon County School District’s budget was evident during Tuesday night's school board meeting.
On the table was a plan to ask the county's voters to approve a one-mill hike in local property taxes. It would raise about $26 million a year for teacher and classroom support staff salaries. But School Board Members Alva Smith and Laurie Lawson Cox insist the district needs to cut more spending first. Here's Cox:
"Cutting out any kind of waste that we have in our district with our own housecleaning of our house before we go and ask our taxpayers for more money."
Which brought this response from Superintendent Rocky Hanna.
"All this conversation about wasteful spending, I take exception to. And I respectfully disagree. Because I've taken pride in how we manage the funds of this district and the taxpayer dollars in this district!"
The Board voted to have Hanna come back before the end of May with proposed ballot language to potentially put the one-mill property tax hike on the November ballot.
