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Consider the school board’s fee concerns 02/19/11

THE ISSUE: School impact fee rate.
CHRONICLE EDITORIAL OPINION: Commission’s view is shortsighted.

Last May, county commissioners voted to reduce the transportation impact fee to zero until the end of 2010 to create a window of opportunity for encouraging new business activity.

On the heels of this bold move, the commission retained Duncan Associates to review the county’s impact fees. The report by Duncan Associates, which is the first phase of a multi-phase project to update impact fees, sparked opposing views by school board members and county commissioners during a recent public workshop on impact fees.

Although school board members unanimously recommended the county commission adopt the school impact fee at 100 percent of the rate recommended by Duncan Associates, county commissioners, with the exception of Commissioner Winn Webb, appeared inclined to set the school impact fee at 50 percent of the recommended rate even though school impact fees are not assessed for commercial development.
By singling out the school impact fee for a rate that would be only half of that recommended by Duncan Associates without first consulting the school board, county commissioners are relegating education to lower importance than the other impact fee categories they plan to adopt at 100 percent of the recommended rate.

Given that the Florida Constitution decrees, “The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida,” county commissioners are being dismissive of the school board’s constitutional responsibility for assuring a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high-quality system of free public schools. They are also being dismissive of the overwhelming majority of Citrus County voters who affirmed this fundamental value last November when they approved the ad valorum restoration of .25 mills for school facilities maintenance and improvements.

While county commissioners are interested in leveraging the county’s economic future, they are overlooking the fact that the school board must also leverage for the future if quality education is to be maintained and enhanced. In this regard, a capable labor pool and quality school system are key to economic development and diversification since they are primary considerations for the relocation of businesses and families.

When it comes to school board matters, county commissioners are presumptuous to believe they know best. Therefore, if commissioners are to remain true to their goal of leveraging county impact fees to promote economic development in a fair and equitable manner for all parties, they need to consider school board members as full partners rather than silent partners on school impact fees by soliciting their input and seriously considering it.

(Source: www.chronicleonline.com/content/consider-school-board%E2%80%99s-fee-concerns-021911)

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