Hillsborough school district has been dipping into emergency funds to cover expenses
TAMPA — In the last four years of superintendent MaryEllen Elia's administration, the Hillsborough County School District went on a spending jag, tearing through more than half of its $361 million reserve fund, officials revealed this week.
Left unchecked, the pattern would have resulted in another operating deficit this year — a $75 million hit that would bring the fund down near its legal minimum threshhold.
The situation has surprised Elia's successor, unsettled School Board members and put bonding agencies on alert, which could lead to the district facing higher interest rates when it has to borrow money.
Jeff Eakins, who took over as superintendent after serving as Elia's deputy, says he was caught off guard when he realized the district used $68.5 million in non-recurring funds to meet this year's payroll.
"We're not in any kind of financial crisis," Eakins told the Tampa Bay Times editorial board Tuesday. But, he said, "we need to put some measures in place right now."
Eakins was careful not to criticize Elia, a onetime national finalist for superintendent of the year who, after her Jan. 20 firing in Hillsborough, landed a job as state education commissioner in New York.
Asked if he knew about the spending imbalance before Elia left in March, Eakins said, "not to this extent." Meeting one-on-one with School Board members in recent weeks, he was similarly discreet, said member Sally Harris. "He never mentioned names, just numbers," she said.
Elia's critics on the board were far less subtle.
"We have time and time again requested information that was not given to us, as has been documented for years in her evaluations," said board member April Griffin.
Added member Cindy Stuart: "To me, this validates every reason why we pushed the yes button to fire MaryEllen."
Elia did not return calls for comment Monday and Tuesday.
Board member Melissa Snively, who voted against firing Elia, said of the controversy, "I hope it doesn't overshadow the good things she did in this district. She did a lot of positive things for the children that put us on the map."
While disappointed to learn of the dwindling reserve fund, Snively said, "I'm not one to dwell on the past, except what we can learn from it."
Eakins said he is still gathering information as he tries to get a full understanding of the budget issue.
For example: Teachers were given pay raises in the summer after negotiations with their union. School Board members were told how much those raises would cost.
But those were estimates that fell short of the real number because they did not take into account a new pay structure offered under Empowering Effective Teachers, the system Elia initiated in 2009 with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That's because teachers don't decide whether they want Hillsborough school district has been dipping into emergency funds to cover expenses | Tampa Bay Times: