Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During a workshop meeting of the Madison County District School Board on Monday, June 24, the board heard a presentation from Dr. James Brown, of PSTB Consulting, LLC. Dr. Brown was hired as a consultant to examine options for improving the school district’s financial future, especially in light of continually declining student enrollment.
In his report, Dr. Brown emphasized a “need for action,” stating, “The Madison County School District is at a point where it must address the dwindling sources of revenue. It is necessary for this to happen in order to be competitive in attracting and maintaining highly qualified teachers and staff and providing high-quality services for students and staff.” The primary reason for these “dwindling sources of revenue” is the declining student enrollment. One stated reason for this included parents opting for other educational opportunities such as charter schools, virtual schools or choosing to enroll students in adjacent school districts, both in and out of the state. Another factor is the lack of economic growth in Madison County, resulting in the loss of families with school-age children. “This results in a significant loss in recurring revenue from the Florida Department of Education and Federal Government, a double hit,” the reports states.
After examining the district’s financial records and speaking with board members, school staff and others, Dr. Brown presented two possible scenarios to achieve cost savings, if the board chose not to remain with the status quo. The first scenario would:
• Close Greenville Elementary School (GES), Lee Elementary School (LES) and Pinetta Elementary School (PES).
• Transfer students from LES, GES and PES to Madison County Central School (MCCS).
• Transfer students in grades seven and eight from MCCS to Madison County High School (MCHS).
• Eliminate staff positions at LES, GES and PES and adjust staffing at MCCS and MCHS as needed.
• Reduce Central Office staff.
This option would be projected to result in a net savings to the district of approximately $2,295,500.
The other option proposed calls for:
• Transfer students from GES to MCCS.
• Transfer sixth grade students from PES and LES to MCCS and transfer PreK through fifth grade students from PES to LES
• Transfer grades seven and eight from MCCS to MCHS.
• Eliminate staffing at GES and PES.
• Adjust staffing at LES, MCCS and MCHS as needed.
• Close GES and PES.
• Maintain LES so long as it continues to generate enough FTE (full time equivalent - a measure of student enrollment) to ensure the school is self-sustaining in its operations. At the end of any school year, should LES not maintain an enrollment to generate self-sustaining FTE, close the school, eliminate staffing and transfer students to MCCS and adjust its staff as needed.
One caveat of this option is the fact that it would be contingent on a determination from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Office of Civil Rights that it does not violate an existing agreement between the USDOE Office of Civil Rights and the School Board. The projected savings from this plan would equal approximately $681,300.
School Board member Devin Thompson asked about the possibility of opening a “magnet school.” The Florida Department of Education defines a magnet school as a school that offers “a specialized curriculum to students outside the school’s normal attendance boundaries. These programs may include a particular theme or focus such as mathematics, science technology, communications, international affairs, business or performing arts.” Thompson mentioned funds that could be available for such a school. District Chief Financial Officer Rose Raynak stated she was familiar with that process, having gone through the process at another school district. Raynak stated the process is highly competitive and difficult. Board member VeEtta Hagan voiced her opposition to the magnet school idea, stating that students would have to have a certain grade point average to attend a magnet school, which she felt would be unfair to lower achieving students.
It was the recommendation of Dr. Brown to implement the first scenario, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. It was Dr. Brown’s assessment that this “will allow the district to redirect funding from the closed elementary schools to other priority areas, such as teacher and staff salaries and improved services for students and staff.”
In his conclusion, Dr. Brown stated, “Maintaining the status quo will ultimately lead to unnecessary expenses, excessive staffing and an erosion of support from the community; all of which will impact district and student success. Operating efficiently is about saving time, money and improving the educational experiences for students and staff. Change is uncomfortable, but it is also the only constant in life; and change is at the very core of education students in the Madison County School District.”
“I have heard nothing to change my mind,” said Hagan, who has been adamantly opposed to closing any of the outlying elementary schools.
This same feeling was echoed by board member Carol Gibson, who was opposed to the idea of hiring a consultant to examine the option of closing schools. “I don’t feel I need to pay someone for their opinion,” said Gibson, another staunch opponent to closing schools.
Dr. Brown’s full report can be found at https://go.boarddocs.com/fl/madcofl/Board.nsf/files/D6EK4B4FEF38/$file/Consultation%20Report.pdf.
Superintendent of Schools Shirley Joseph stated when she presents her recommendations to the board, “It will be based on the data.”
The next regular meeting of the Madison County District School Board is scheduled to take place on Monday, July 1. The meeting is set to take place in the meeting room, located at 210 NE Duval Ave., in Madison.