Florida school boards get some PR help.

• Author: Gordon, Dianna
• Position: Public relations

The need for school funds is hard to sell in Florida, but a legislative agency has figured out a way to help.

It's too early to tell, but school districts may have a new weapon - courtesy of the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) - in their constant contest with recalcitrant taxpayers.

"Many times, you get skeptics at school board meetings who want to know what good the tax money they pay to the district is doing. The taxpayer says, 'I don't give a rat about the fact the law says you had to put in a program or pay so much. I want to know what good it did,'" notes John Turcotte, OPPAGA director. Now, his office, along with the state auditor general, can conduct a review that gives school board members the specific answers to such skeptical queries.

The two offices developed a financial practices review at the request of the Florida Legislature that was adopted by the commissioner of education in 1997. The program was designed to increase public confidence in school financial management by showing where and how efficiently tax money is being spent.

Though no actual review has been conducted to date, there are several schools that have requested one.

"A large segment of our population is retired, and they have no children in the schools," Turcotte points out. "Local property taxes are a significant portion of school revenue, and there is a lot of concern about increasing local property taxes. There have been problems with serious overcrowding in the schools, but districts could not get bond issues passed. So the 'best financial management review' was developed to increase public confidence."

Turcotte says the review differs from the state-mandated annual audit in every district in that it looks at operation efficiency and procedures in place to save money.

Officially labeled as a "best financial practices review," Turcotte explains that the idea of best practices is getting the highest quality for the lowest price.

HOW IT WORKS

First off, the school board must unanimously approve a request to OPPAGA for a review. For a full review, the state pays half. For what is called a component review, one area or two of financial management, the school district must pay 75 percent. The legislative office and the auditor general conduct the review, and issue a report on the school district's financial practices and potential cost savings. From there, the State Board...