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Board hears FIDDLERS update; members question why Marion must pay $300,000 roof
Summary
Marion County school leaders received an overview of the FIDDLERS diagnostic and learning network and pressed presenters on funding and who should pay for an estimated $300,000 roof replacement for the Reddick facility. Staff said operations are largely grant-funded through IDEA; capital funding and indirect-cost negotiations rest with district finance and the Department of Education.
Mr. Husted, director of the regional FIDDLERS (Forward Diagnostic and Learning Resource System) center, gave the board a detailed overview of the center's mission, statutory basis and services, and described how the network uses federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant funds to support staff, training and assistive technology across seven districts including Marion.
Husted told the board that the program's core services are child-find screenings for ages 3' to 5, technology and assistive-material libraries, parent and family services, and professional learning for district staff. He noted the project is administered through a grant the district serves as fiscal agent for and that "the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System is something that is listed in Florida Statutes, Florida Statutes §1006.03," in his remarks. He said grant-covered costs include salaries, travel, benefits and materials; indirect cost rates are negotiated by the district finance office with the Department of Education.
Board members focused the discussion on facility costs after Chair Doctor James raised a capital need: "around about a $300,000 roof that is needed for the Fiddlers Building," and asked why Marion County Public Schools would be solely responsible for such capital repairs when the center serves multiple districts. Husted said most operational costs are covered by the federal grant but capital funding and negotiated indirect charges are handled separately by the district's finance office and DOE negotiations.
Mr. Whitehouse told the board staff will bring facility updates and a recommendation back to the board: "Fiddlers will be one of them that we're gonna bring a recommendation on, and we can certainly explore that question before then about whether other districts can spend their capital dollars on our facilities." Board members said they want staff to explore whether other districts can share capital costs or whether a legislative or DOE-level solution is warranted.
No final decision was made; the board asked staff to include a FIDDLERS facility recommendation in its next facilities work session so members can weigh options for capital repair responsibility, potential shared-cost models and any requests to the Department of Education.
Next steps: staff will return with facility recommendations and options for whether and how other districts might contribute capital funds; the board directed staff to explore grant or DOE remedies as part of that recommendation.
