Group asks School Board to consider impact fees
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

One group of residents in the county wants to know why the school board is borrowing so much money to build their new schools, and wants the school board to implement impact fees on new developers to help pay for new schools.

A representative of the citizens group from Pace addressed the board at their last school board meeting, saying he is very disappointed in the board's decision making.

"We want to know why you built the new school in Avalon by borrowing $18 million. Now you have to pay interest for years. When are you going to get yourselves onto a cash basis with building new schools?" asked Tony Apath.

He said, "Our idea is that you should be implementing an impact fee to build new schools. In the state, 39 counties have impact fees used by their school boards, For example, Polk County is charging $6,006 for every house built for school building. Our county commission has adopted impact fees, but your board turned the idea down. Why?"

School Board President Hugh Winkles explained that the same consultant who did the study for the county commission on impact fees did it for the school board.

"They found out we could generate more funds with the half cent sales tax, so we went with that instead."

School Board attorney Paul Green said the state will not allow you to use impact fees if there is another way you can pay for the construction, also. "If you get sued, you lose if they can show you had another way to pay for the school construction - like sales tax. Just that simple," Green said.

The Pace representative pointed to a new development called Jubilee near Pace, starting their building now.

"When that is all complete it will have 9,800 houses in there, and we calculate that that means they could have as many as 4,900 school age kids. Why isn't the school board planning for those kind of developments for new schools now? In that kind if situation you should really be charging an impact fee to the developer.

Supt. John Rogers said that of course no development as large as Jubilee would be taking place without talking to the developer about schools, and that has already been done.

"There has already been property donated to the school board by Jubilee developers, and in fact right now we are talking to them about Jubilee actually building the school and then leasing it to the school district for as long as we need it," Supt. Rogers said.

"But some of these things just do not get out into the public eye yet, since we are working on negotiations still." He explained that the school board has a five year development plan in place at all times, and new developments are always figured into that plan.

School Board member Ed Gray III of Gulf Breeze explained, "We are told by the state what millage we can charge, and many of our expenses are mandated by the state. And how we can raise money is also outlined by the state. And all the work we have done on this year's budget, for example, may be for naught when the legislature goes back in session in September, because they are talking cuts for the schools again."

The board members said because of these kind of budget constrictions, they probably won't be doing new school building on a cash basis any time soon.