Near the bottom in education funding

Education burden shifted to property owners
Florida continues to rank near the bottom of all states in per-pupil funding.
Gainesville Sun

lawmakers have shifted the responsibility of paying for K-20 education - kindergarten through college - to property owners.

Of all the state's general revenues - which include sales tax and fees - education's share declined from 61.5 percent in 1984-85 to 50.5 percent in 2005-06.

Looking at just the education budget: In 1985, state sales taxes and fees paid 65 percent of the cost of public education. Now, sales taxes and fees pay only 47 percent. The rest comes from property taxes. more...

See also:

Tourism board advising Collier commission to cut county museum funding
Naples Daily News
“They are cutting back on people and everything else to keep the county budget balanced.” The Marco Island museum is slated to get $80000 next year for ...

Cascading impacts

In affluent Naples:

More hungry students could be starting school Monday

In Sarasota:

Sarasota County schools cut $40 million from this year's budget. In the past two years Manatee has cut $43 million in spending. Fewer data and reading coaches, assistant principals and media specialists means more work for teachers and less help for students. link

Breaking a condominium death spiral

Few of the Southwest Florida’s condominiums are untouched by the housing bust, with experts claiming anywhere from a single unit to 40 percent of any given building’s units abandoned, in foreclosure or having residents who can no longer afford to pay their association dues.

In Osceola:

Fire Rescue station and library hours could be among county budget cuts

Cuts still loom for Sarasota school district

SARASOTA COUNTY -- The Sarasota County School Board will hold its first tentative budget hearing Tuesday, following a regular board meeting. And despite drastic budget cuts, positions will still be lost.

The board has been working since last fall to trim its 2009-10 budget, and has succeeded in identifying more than $40 million, or about 20 percent, that can be cut.

While visiting family in Massachusetts over the weekend, Board Chair Caroline Zucker said about $31 million was the result of cuts, while the rest came from cost-saving measures. link