The Gilchrist County School Board voted Monday to rescind its motion to build a new elementary school in the county.
Superintendent of Schools Gina Geiger said said she recommended no longer moving forward with construction due to a decreasing student population and financial struggles due to the state’s voucher policy.
Geiger said although the cost of building the new school is covered by the state, the district cannot afford to operate or staff the school.
Geiger said the district is also dealing with a low fund balance.
The state requires a fund balance of 3 percent. The school district’s is at 3.14 percent.
The district is facing a $3.6 million shortfall, she said.
Geiger said 47 of the state’s 67 school districts are facing similar issues with the decline in student enrollment.
School districts’ funding is influenced by the number of students enrolled in the district. The state’s voucher program incentives homeschooling, Assistant Superintendent Christie McElroy said, reducing public schools’ student populations and funding.
Geiger said the state gave the district the option to “right-size” the new school, decreasing its capacity from 756 students to 400, but it has become clear that the district could not fund the new school, even at a smaller size.
School Board Member David Biddle said he spoke to former State Speaker of the House Paul Renner to get an idea of how this could affect the school district.
A cause for concern on the issue was the School Board had been told that not moving forward with the project could get Gilchrist effectively blacklisted from receiving funds for a similar project in the future.
Biddle said Renner told him he did not believe the legislature would hold the school district in a negative light for being fiscally responsible..
Geiger said if the new school were to be built and left vacant, a charter or private school could take over the property, but the school district would still be responsible for maintenance of the property.
Geiger said oart if the declining enrollment includes around 400 students that are moving to home education, the same number of students the new school was now designed to house.
Geiger said she met with district’s lobbyist and local legislators to request the district not be penalized “for making a fiscally responsible decision and to advocate for funds to repair and modernize existing facilities.
She said a budget request was submitted the office of Representative Chad Johnson to address the current schools’ critical repair and improvement needs.
School Board Member Susan Owens made a motion to rescind the motion. Tammy Moore seconded the motion.
The School Board voted unanimously to rescind the motion to construct the new school.
“We must protect the long-term health of our school system,” Geiger said. “Our responsibility is to make decisions based on the realities we face today, not the conditions that existed two years ago.”