Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/352007
Weidner noted in his presentation to the board that the lower Required Local Effort was made possible by a 7.8-percent increase in the value of county property taxed by the district. Because the School Board is not rolling back its proposed total millage rate to reflect that rise, the rate represents a 4.2-percent increase compared to the 2013-14 tax level. District tax revenue is expected to rise by 2.42 percent. When Vice Chairman Frank Kovach clarified that the budget does not include any salary increases, Weidner replied, "That is 100 per- cent correct." Board member Shirley Brown pointed out that district staff has not completed its nego- tiations with the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association, so the budget might change as a result. Still, she said, "We can pretty much mark this down and print it out and say, 'This is what it's going to be.'" The School Board will take about $3.4 mil- lion from its unassigned reserves, or "rainy day fund," to balance the new budget, slightly more than the $3.3 million projected to be needed as staff closes out the 2013-14 spend- ing plan, Weidner added. The estimate shows that as of June 30, 2015, the district will have an unassigned fund balance of $36,559,403, he said, reflecting 9.17 percent of total appropriations. He noted that during the last board workshop on the general fund portion of the budget, which was held in May, staff expected to have to take $5.9 million from the unassigned reserves to balance the new budget. School Board members Shirley Brown (left) and Bridget Ziegler await the start of the presentation of the tentative budget for the 2015 fiscal year. Photo by Rachel Hackney Sarasota News Leader July 25, 2014 Page 10