Manatee County School District previews 2025–26 capital plan; board asks staff to model surtax-sharing options for charters

At a May 23 workshop the Manatee County School District presented a preliminary five-year capital budget and project plan, outlining active construction, revenue sources and the district’s priority repairs and modernizations.

Deputy Superintendent (presenter) Sellers and district staff reviewed capital revenue streams the district relies on — ad valorem property taxes, state Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) appropriations, local impact fees, voter-approved half-cent sales tax revenue and financing through certificates of participation (COPS) — and described how the district allocates those resources among construction, renovation, maintenance and debt service.

Staff told the board it had to use a mix of those funding sources to support ongoing projects and recently completed work. Key active projects included two new elementary schools (budgeted at roughly $75 million each), a K–8 campus and planning for a new high school prototype the district estimated at roughly $140 million for an initial 1,200-student phase. Staff said permits and design work were underway on several sites and that the district’s January–March enrollment validations affect operational funding flows for partners such as charter schools.

The district also reviewed Jacobs Engineering assessments used to prioritize deferred-maintenance projects. Staff emphasized the difference between renovation/remodeling and full replacement (Castaldi analysis) and summarized the Jacobs scoring system for facility components. Rinaldi and other operations staff said work under the Jacobs priorities has reduced the number of the oldest/highest‑need projects, and that projects coded as “pink” in their five-year plan are the next group up for renovation.

During the presentation staff highlighted constraints: state rules (SREF — State Requirements for Educational Facilities), escalating construction costs, multi-year commitments on COPS funding and limits on some local revenue (for example, impact fees may only be used for growth-related capital projects). They noted the 2023 COPS financing ($170 million) and a 2025 series that generated about $150 million to support new campuses and that these financing flows have timing constraints.

Staff also spelled out the district’s current capital relationships with charter schools: PECO funds historically have been passed through for charter capital outlay; charters received block grants from local surtax revenue in earlier years; changes in law and board action since 2022–23 reduced or changed those payments in some cases. In response to public comment earlier in the meeting, staff presented charter-capital revenue totals and projected five-year distributions: PECO pass-through amounts, prior block grants, and district estimates of the charter share of the half-cent sales tax under a proportional (FTE-based) calculation.

Board members pressed staff for clarifications and asked how reallocating part of the surtax to charters would affect projects and timing. Staff said the surtax generates roughly $53–56 million per year and that a full proportional charter share would amount to roughly $8–11 million depending on the year and enrollment. Staff highlighted that earmarked or restricted balances and ongoing multi-year contracts limit short-term flexibility.

After discussion the board agreed by consensus to ask staff to prepare modeled options for sharing sales-tax capital revenue with charter schools, beginning with an option that would provide roughly 50% of the charter proportional share in fiscal year 2025–26 and glide higher in future years (60%, 80%, then full proportional share). Staff was asked to return figures and scenarios for a June budget meeting so the board could consider a policy decision before the tentative/final budget cycle.

Ending: Staff will return modeled financial scenarios showing the fiscal impact of multiple distribution strategies — including the 50% starting option the board directed staff to analyze — and how the district would adjust project timing or funding sources to maintain critical repairs and new construction.