RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING SCHOOL CONCURRENCY
CITY OF MIDWAY
FLORIDA PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT LAB FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING DECEMBER 2007
Honorable Delores Madison, Mayor City of Midway
Ella Barber, Mayor Pro-Tem District 2
Quintealia Cato James Hinson Jerrod Holton District 5 District 6-At Large District 7-At Large
Charlie Smith Charles Willis District 1 District 4
Prepared By: The Florida Planning and Development Lab, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
Harrison Higgins, Director Consultant team members: Shawna Beji, Julian Clayton, Christina Coger, Eric Gorman, Marybeth Groff, Barbara Powell, and Ramona Madhosingh-Hector.
Acknowledgements The Consulting Team would like to thank many individuals for their help on this project. First, we would like to thank our project manager Harrison Higgins, for providing us with the education background, motivation and day-to-day direction that helped keep this project on course. In addition, our thanks go to the members of our review committee, Jeffrey Brown, Maria Cahill, and Greg Thompson for their help and guidance throughout this project.
Ultimately this project would not have been possible without the help of the following people: Mary Davis, Sandra Gleaton, Joann Kimble, Rocky Pace, Wayne Shepard, and Bonnie Wood with the Gadsden County School Board; Sandra Keen, Tracy Suber and John Grantham with the Florida Department of Education; Bill McCord, Amy O'Donnell & Ken Stocks at the Gadsden County Growth Management Department; Lorraine Duffy- Suarez from Hillsborough County School Board; Stephanie Striefel from Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.; and Susan Poplin from the Florida Department of Community Affairs. Your time, patience, knowledge and expertise were invaluable to us for this project.
And last, but not least: Cynthia Brown, Kathy Dispennette, and Carey Bradwell from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, who are the backbone of this department and to whom we will always be grateful. To the entire faculty who have not only given us the foundation of planning, but shown us through their dedication and work ethic how to strive to be better planners. We thank you all!
Cover Photo: West Gadsden High School, Courtesy of the Gadsden County School Board
Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2005, Senate Bill 360 (Chapter 2005-290, Laws of Florida) called for a collaborative approach to planning for public schools that strengthens the relationship between local government land use planning and district school facility planning. Under contract with the City of Midway, the Florida Planning and Development Lab (FPDL) at Florida State University‘s Department of Urban and Regional Planning has provided the city with the following data and analysis to ensure consistency with the county regarding public school concurrency no later than February 1, 2008.
The following is a summary of the key findings of this document: 1. The City of Midway is the fastest growing municipality in Gadsden County. 2. The City of Midway does not have any school facilities located within its municipal boundaries. 3. School enrollment in Gadsden County has been declining, and projections suggest that this trend will continue. 4. Gadsden County School District is consolidating and closing old and under- utilized facilities, as well as reducing the number of relocatable facilities, across the district. 5. All schools in Gadsden County are operating under capacity. 6. Gadsden County School District has a financially feasible work program for the five-year planning period.
The City of Midway has expressed interest in having a public school facility sited within the municipality boundaries. Adopting a uniform concurrency management system in the district will provide an opportunity for discussions between the Gadsden County School Board and Midway regarding potential future spatial mismatches between the location of school infrastructure and population growth. Such opportunities will allow the city to be an active participant in making decisions about future school facilities, whether they be closings, consolidations, or relocations.
The data presented here in suggest that Gadsden County may qualify for a waiver from school concurrency pursuant to subsection 163.3177(12), Florida Statutes. If the county asserts this qualification and if the assertion is found to be in compliance with state law, the City of Midway and all municipalities within the county will be relieved from the obligation to submit a public school facilities element (PSFE) to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a period of time. In the event that the qualification for a waiver is not asserted by the county or asserted and found not in compliance with state law, the county and all its non-exempt municipalities must submit the required PSFE. As detailed later, the data suggests that Midway, despite not having a public school in its municipal limits, is nevertheless, not exempt from the PSFE requirement.
The main sections of this report are outlined below with brief summaries of the contents of each section.
Executive Summary
Section 1: Introduction This section provides an overview of the requirements of the contract and deliverables between the City of Midway and the FPDL. An overview of the origins of school concurrency and associated statutory requirements are discussed.
Section 2: Data & Analysis: Existing Conditions This section identifies existing and future conditions within Gadsden County and the City of Midway, including population and housing, school infrastructure, school capacity and assesses the financial feasibility of the school district’s work program. These data and analysis were used in developing the goals, objectives and policies for the public school facilities element.
Section 3: Waiver to School Concurrency This section represents the first recommended course of action that the City of Midway should take towards implementing school concurrency. It explains the exemption and waiver criteria to the PSFE, presents the data supporting a waiver for Gadsden County and all its municipalities, and presents an analysis of Midway’s qualification for an exemption.
Section 4: The Action Plan: Goals, Objectives & Policies This section provides an introduction to the planning issues and presents the recommended goals, objectives and policies for guiding and coordinating school concurrency in the City of Midway by adoption into their comprehensive plan. It also outlines suggested revisions to the interlocal agreement based on findings in the data and analysis.
Section 5: The Interlocal Agreement This section outlines recommended changes for the Interlocal Agreement to ensure consistency with the public school facilities element.
Appendix A Appendix A contains additional data and analysis for the development of the public school facilities element, including methodologies, calculations, and data sources that while integral to this analysis, need not weigh down the findings of this report.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1
PURPOSE AND REQUIREMENTS ...... 1 SCENARIO FOR MIDWAY...... 6 2 DATA AND ANALYSIS: EXISTING CONDITIONS ...... 7
POPULATION AND HOUSING ...... 8 Housing Characteristics ...... 14 Development Trends ...... 15 SCHOOLS ...... 18 Guidelines for Development of Schools ...... 25 Co-Location and Shared Use of Schools ...... 26 Current State of District Schools ...... 27 Funding for Capital Improvements ...... 40 Financial Feasibility of Gadsden County District Work Program ...... 42 SCHOOL CAPACITY NEEDS ...... 43 3 WAIVER TO SCHOOL CONCURRENCY ...... 47
LEGAL FOUNDATION ...... 47 FINDINGS FOR QUALIFICATION AND ANALYSIS ...... 48 CONSIDERATION FOR WAIVER IMPLEMENTATION ...... 49 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 49 4 THE ACTION PLAN: GOALS, OBJECTIVES & POLICIES ...... 50
INTRODUCTION ...... 50 PLANNING ISSUES ...... 51 GOPS FOR SCHOOL SITING ...... 52 GOPS TO IMPLEMENT SCHOOL CONCURRENCY: THE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES ELEMENT ...... 57 Future Conditions ...... 64 Intergovernmental Coordination Element ...... 66 Capital Improvement Element ...... 68 5 THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT ...... 70
INTRODUCTION ...... 70 SUGGESTED REVISIONS WITH THE COUNTY WAIVER OPTION ...... 70 SUGGESTED REVISIONS WITH THE ADOPTION OF A PUBLIC SCHOOLS FACILITIES ELEMENT ...... 76 APPENDIX A ...... 89 REFERENCES ...... 95
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LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 City of Midway and Gadsden County Population & Projections 1990-2030 ...... 10 Table 2.2 Population Growth of Gadsden County Municipalities, 1990-2000 ...... 10 Table 2.3 Student Enrollment and Total Population, 1996-2006 ...... 11 Table 2.4 Gadsden County Average Student Enrollment, 2004-2018 ...... 12 Table 2.5 Gadsden County School-Age Population, 2000-2030 ...... 13 Table 2.6 Housing Units and Household Size 1990-2000 ...... 14 Table 2.7 Inventory of Gadsden County Public Schools, 2007 ...... 19 Table 2.8 Minimum Guidelines for New School Facilities ...... 26 Table 2.9 Capacity Analysis for Gadsden County Schools, 2007-2008 ...... 29 Table 2.10 Capacity Analysis for Gadsden County Schools with Relocatables, 2007-2008 ...... 32 Table 2.11 Five Year Planning Horizon - Current and Projected Utilization by School ...... 33 Table 2.12 Relocatable Student Stations: Current and Projected ...... 36 Table 2.13 Leased Facilities Tracking ...... 37 Table 2.14 Ancillary Facilities Inventory ...... 37 Table 2.15 Estimated Capital Outlay Revenue ...... 43 Table 3.1 Waiver Qualification ...... 48 Table 3.2 Exemption Qualification ...... 48 Table 4.1 City of Midway School Related Inventory ...... 52 Table A.1 Shift-Share Calculation Example ...... 90 Table A.2 Calculating City of Midway Student Enrollment, 1997-2006 ...... 90 Table A.3 Calculating Annual School-Age Population, 2005 -2010 ...... 91 Table A.4 COFTE and School-Age Population, Gadsden County ...... 92 Table A.5 Students per Dwelling Unit by School Type, Gadsden County ...... 93 Table A.6 Physical School Inventory, Gadsden County Schools ...... 94
LIST OF MAPS Map 2.1 City of Midway, Florida ...... 7 Map 2.2 2000 Gadsden County Population Density ...... 9 Map 2.3 City of Midway Future Land Use Map ...... 17 Map 2.4 Gadsden County Schools ...... 18 Map 2.5 Gadsden County Elementary Schools ...... 20 Map 2.6 Gadsden County Middle Schools ...... 21 Map 2.7 Gadsden County High Schools ...... 22 Map 2.8 Gadsden County Special Purpose Schools ...... 23 Map 2.9 Schools Attended by Midway School-Aged Children ...... 24 Map 2.10 Gadsden County School Board Ancillary Facilities...... 38 Map 2.11 Gadsden County School Board Vacant School Facilities ...... 39 Map 2.12 Elementary School Attendance Zones ...... 44 Map 2.13 Middle School Attendance Zones ...... 45 Map 2.14 High School Attendance Zones ...... 46 Map 4.1 Gadsden County Schools Future Conditions ...... 65
LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 School Concurrency Process ...... 5 Figure 2.1 City of Midway Residential Sales Transactions, September 2004-August 2007 ...... 15 Figure 2.2 Building Permits, Gadsden County and City of Midway, 2001-2006 ...... 16 Figure 2.3 Gadsden County Elementary School Utilization, 2007-2008 ...... 30 Figure 2.4 Gadsden County Middle School Utilization, 2007-2008 ...... 30 Figure 2.5 Gadsden County High School and Special Purpose School Utilization, 2007-2008 ...... 31 Figure 2.6 Five Year Planning Horizon - Current and Projected Utilization by School ...... 34 Figure 2.7 10 & 20 Year Planning Horizon - Current & Projected Utilization by School Type ...... 35 Figure A.1 COFTE Student Enrollment and School-Age Population, Gadsden County ...... 92
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List of Acronyms ACORN Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now BEBR Bureau of Economic and Business Research CIE Capital Improvements Element CO&DS Capital Outlay & Debt Service COFTE Capital Outlay Full-time Equivalent DRI Development of Regional Impact FAC Florida Administrative Code DCA Florida Department of Community Affairs DOE Florida Department of Education FEFP Florida Education Finance Program FISH Florida Inventory of School Houses FLUE Future Land Use Element FPDL Florida Planning and Development Lab F.S. Florida Statutes FTE Full-time Equivalent Students ICE Intergovernmental Coordination Element MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization OPPAGA Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability PECO Public Education Capital Outlay PSFE Public School Facilities Element SB Senate Bill WFTE Weighted Full-time Equivalent Students
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List of Definitions Ancillary plant is comprised of the building, site, and site improvements necessary to provide such facilities as vehicle maintenance, warehouses, maintenance, or administrative buildings necessary to provide support services to an educational program.
Auxiliary facility refers to any the spaces located at educational plants which are not designed for student occupant stations.
Capital improvement is a physical asset constructed or purchased to provide, improve or replace a public facility and which are large scale and high in cost. The cost of a capital improvement is generally nonrecurring and may require multi-year financing. For the purposes of this rule, physical assets which have been identified as existing or projected needs in the individual comprehensive plan elements shall be considered capital improvements.
COFTE Enrollment (Capital Outlay Full-Time Equivalent) is an average of total public student enrollment in a given school year. Developed by the Department of Education, this information is reported annually by school and by county. These data are projected ten years into the future and are used for planning future school facilities. In addition, they exclude all charter, private and home-school enrollment.
Concurrency is a term used to signify when public facilities and services necessary to maintain the adopted level of service standards are available when the impacts of development occur.
Concurrency Management System refers to the procedures and/or process that the local government will utilize to assure that development orders and permits are not issued unless the necessary facilities and services are available concurrent with the impacts of development.
Core Facilities are the media center, cafeteria, toilet facilities, and circulation space of an educational plant.
Educational Facilities are the buildings and equipment, structures, and special educational use areas that are built, installed, or established to serve primarily the educational purposes and secondarily the social and recreational purposes of the community and which may lawfully be used as authorized by the Florida Statutes and approved by boards.
Educational Plant comprises the educational facilities, site, and site improvements necessary to accommodate students, faculty, administrators, staff, and the activities of the educational program of each plant.
Educational Plant Survey is a systematic study of present educational and ancillary plants and the determination of future needs to provide an appropriate educational program and services for each student based on projected capital outlay full-time equivalent data approved by the Department of Education.
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Educational Uses are activities and facilities of public or private primary or secondary schools, vocational and technical schools, and colleges and universities licensed by the Florida Department of Education, including the areas of buildings, campus open space, dormitories, recreational facilities or parking.
FISH Capacity is a statistic used by the Florida Department of Education and is a product of the number of classrooms at a school and the student stations assigned to each room type. This report defines FISH Capacity as the total number of satisfactory student stations in both permanent and relocatable facilities adjusted by the utilization factor for each school type.
FISH Permanent Capacity is the total number of satisfactory student stations in permanent facilities adjusted by the utilization factor for each school type. Temporary capacity from relocatable facilities is not included in the FISH Permanent Capacity.
Level of Service is an indicator of the extent or degree of service provided by, or proposed to be provided by, a facility based on and related to the operational characteristics of the facility. Level of service indicates the capacity per unit of demand for each public facility.
Public Education Capital Outlay refer to funded projects for site acquisition, renovation, remodeling, construction projects, and site improvements necessary to accommodate buildings, equipment, other structures, and special educational use areas that are built, installed, or established to serve primarily the educational instructional program of the district school board, community college board of trustees, or university board of trustees.
Satisfactory Student Stations is a measure of school capacity and is determined by requirements in state code based on square footage allotments and the intended use of the permanent space as designed and constructed and pursuant to School Board adopted facility lists. The number of permanent satisfactory student stations represents the actual capacity for which a school is designed and built. Satisfactory student stations may also be assigned to portables.
Student Multiplier is a tool used to determine the number of students that will be generated by new development. It is calculated by dividing COFTE student enrollment by occupied housing units for the five and ten year planning periods.
Utilization is a measure of the capacity per unit of demand for each public school facility.
v Introduction
1 INTRODUCTION
Purpose and Requirements Purpose On June 24, 2005 then Governor Jeb Bush executed Senate Bill 360 (Chapters 163, Part II and 1013, Sections 163.3177, 163.31777, 163.3180, 1002.33, 1013.355 Florida Statutes and Chapter 2005-290, Laws of Florida), which called for a collaborative approach to planning for public schools that sought to strengthen the relationship between local government planning and district school facility planning. Under the statewide schedule set forth by the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) as mandated by law, the Gadsden County School District; Gadsden County; the Cities of Chattahoochee, Gretna, Midway, and Quincy; and the Towns of Greensboro and Havana must work together to develop a Public School Facilities Element (PSFE). The local governments must then adopt the PSFE, and associated amendments, into their comprehensive plans to establish school concurrency.
Subsection 163.3177(12)(a)1.-4., F.S., provides specific criteria to determine whether a county and each municipality within the county would be eligible for a waiver from DCA from implementing a school concurrency program. Additionally Subsection 163.3177 (12)(b)1.-3.,F.S., details the criteria by which a municipality may apply for an exemption, even if located in a non-waivered county by demonstrating it is having no significant impact on school attendance. If a waiver or exemption is not applicable, each county and each municipality within the county must adopt a public school facilities element consistent with those adopted by the other local governments within the county.
The City of Midway, in order to meet these statutory requirements by its scheduled adoption date of February 1, 2008, contracted with the Florida Planning and Development Lab (FPDL) at the Department of Urban & Regional Planning of Florida State University to prepare its PSFE and amendments to the Interlocal Agreement, Capital Improvement Element (CIE) and Intergovernmental Coordination Element (ICE) in order to ensure compliance with state laws.
Under this contract, the FPDL has prepared a draft PSFE with the assistance of officials from the Gadsden County School Board, the county and the City of Midway. The FPDL consulting team coordinated with officials from each of the governing bodies to verify data needs, receive comments and reach consensus on the draft documents. This process, however, was somewhat irregular due to the fact that the FPDL contractual deadline is December 2007 while the county’s PSFE completion deadline is not until February 2008. As a result of this timing difference, and due to the fact that Gadsden County has not fully completed the PSFE, the FPDL consulting team has generated data and analysis for the county as a whole.
The City of Midway’s PSFE has been developed using the data identified by the Gadsden County School Board in its annual assessment of public school facilities within the district. The resulting City of Midway data and analysis report presents school
1 Introduction
inventories, existing and projected total population as well as student enrollment, student station cost estimates, funding analyses, recommendations and required maps. These data and analyses are the basis for the goals, objectives and policies for coordination between school planning and land use planning and support the PSFE in implementing and achieving school concurrency.
Public School Facilities Element Requirements Implementation of a statewide school concurrency program came in two stages. First, in 2002, a law was passed by the state legislature requiring all school boards in Florida to enter into interlocal agreements with their local governments stipulating the coordination and sharing of information about plans to build new residential development and school facilities (Section 163.3177(6)(h)(2), F.S.). To further realize the state’s growth management goals, the Florida Legislature mandated in 2005 that adequate public school capacity be available as a prerequisite for residential development approval and called for the adoption of policies relating to maintaining school capacity into the comprehensive plan. The new statute, commonly referred to as Senate Bill 360, set forth requirements for local governments and school boards to establish and to implement an integrated school concurrency management system.
Under this law, each local government must: • Update existing public school interlocal agreements and the intergovernmental coordination element to include coordinated procedures for implementing school concurrency; • Adopt a public school facilities element into their comprehensive plan; • Adopt level of service standards to establish maximum permissible school utilization rates relative to capacity; • Define the geographic boundaries of school concurrency by establishing public school concurrency service areas. • *Establish a financially feasible five-year school district facilities work program; and, • *Establish proportionate-share mitigation methodology and options.
*These requirements are not specific to schools but apply to other public facilities and services needed to support development as outlined in Section 163, Part II, Florida Statutes.
2 Introduction
The PSFE is to be based on the following data and analysis requirements pursuant to subsection 9J-5.005(2), F.A.C.: • An analysis of how level-of-service (LOS) standards will be achieved and maintained; • The interlocal agreement adopted pursuant to Section 163.31777 F.S.; • The five-year school district facilities work program adopted pursuant to Section 1013.35 F.S.; • The educational plant survey prepared pursuant to Section 1013.31 F.S., and an existing educational and ancillary plant map or map series; • Information on existing development and development anticipated for the next five year and the long-term planning period; • An analysis of problems and opportunities for existing schools and anticipated future schools; • An analysis of opportunities to co-locate future schools with other public facilities such as parks, libraries, and community centers; • An analysis of the need for supporting public facilities for existing and future schools; • An analysis of opportunities to locate schools to serve as community focal points; • Projected future population and associated demographics, including development patterns year by year for the upcoming five-year and long-term planning periods; and, • Anticipated educational and ancillary plants with land area requirements.
The legislation prescribes the following minimum content requirements for goals, objectives, and policies (Section 163.3177(12)(g) F.S.): • Procedure for an annual update process; • Procedure for school site selection; • Procedure for school permitting; • Provision of infrastructure necessary to support proposed schools; • Provision for co-location of other public facilities such as parks, libraries, and community centers, in proximity to public schools; • Provision for location of schools proximate to residential areas and to complement patterns of development, including the location of future school sites so they serve as community focal points; • Measures to ensure compatibility of school sites and surrounding land uses; • Coordination with adjacent local governments and the school district on emergency preparedness issues, including the use of public schools to serve as emergency shelters; and, • Coordination with the future land use element.
3 Introduction
In addition, the element shall include one or more future conditions maps which illustrate the anticipated location of educational and ancillary plants, including the general location of improvements to existing schools or new schools anticipated over the five-year or long-term planning period. The maps for the long-term planning period shall be general out of uncertainty whereas maps for the five-year period shall be more specific. Maps indicating general locations of future schools or school improvements may not stipulate a land use on a particular parcel of land as per Section 163.3177(12)(h ), F.S.
Figure 1.1 below outlines the process for establishing school concurrency and serves as the basis for recommendations made to the City of Midway on how to proceed in meeting these requirements and remaining in compliance with state statute.
As previously stated, certain counties may be eligible for a waiver and certain municipalities eligible for an exemption per criteria outlined in statute. The first step in determining if a county or municipality satisfies these criteria to be temporarily exempt from establishing school concurrency is to compile data and complete analyses of existing and future conditions. Qualifying counties submit a waiver application, along with the supporting data and analyses, to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). DCA then reviews the application and determines if it is consistent with the requirements in Subsection 163.3177(12)(a)1.-4., F.S.
If a compliance determination is made, then the county and all of its municipalities are waived from establishing school concurrency for a timeframe determined by DCA. The county and municipalities must update their interlocal agreements to reflect the waiver and to continue to improve intergovernmental coordination and plan collaboratively for future schools until such time a public schools facilities element is required.
If the data and analyses to support the waiver application are determined to be non- compliant with the requirements set out in statute, then the county and all non-exempt municipalities must collaborate with the school board to adopt a public school facilities element into their comprehensive plans as the policy basis for establishing countywide school concurrency.
However, even in a non-waivered county, a municipality can qualify for an exemption if it is not expected to have a significant impact on demand for public school facilities and if it fits within the criteria for an exception per Subsection 163.3177 (12)(b)1.-3.,F.S.
The exemption application process follows the same procedures and courses of action, dependent on a compliance determination, as the waiver application described above.
4 Introduction
Figure 1.1 School Concurrency Process
County Qualifies for Waiver? Y/N If no, If yes,
Apply
Consistent Inconsistent Course of Action: Prepare PSFE for adoption into the comprehensive plan, establishing school concurrency • Data & Analysis Course of Action: • Goals, Objectives & Policies Update ILA & continue to (PSFE, ICE, CIE) implement until PSFE is required • Update ILA
If no, City/Municipality Qualifies for Exemption? Y/N
If yes, Apply
Consistent Inconsistent
In order to provide a uniform system of public education and be consistent with the requirements described above, Gadsden County and its municipalities must first agree on key components on which to build their school concurrency system. The key components that need to be defined and mutually agreed upon are: level of service standards, concurrency service areas, and standards for applying proportionate share mitigation. These components are defined and the processes established in the interlocal agreement for assessing and implementing school concurrency within the district. The collaborative nature of this agreement sets the groundwork for each local government to establish a public school facilities element that is consistent with others in the district in terms of these key variables. However, the goals, objectives and policies outlined in the PSFE and any amendments made to the Capital Improvements Element (CIE) or Intergovernmental Coordination Element (ICE) should reflect scenarios that are pertinent to the individual local governments. In other words, while remaining consistent with the key components identified in the interlocal agreement, a local government is able to create a PSFE that is tailored to its specific needs.
5 Introduction
Scenario for Midway This section serves as a window for viewing the City of Midway and outlines its objectives in the context of establishing a public school facilities element. The scenario outlined below should be considered when examining the subsequent section on data and analysis since it provides the background and context for assessing the implications of implementing school concurrency in Midway given the city’s vision for providing school services for its residents.
The City of Midway is currently the only municipality in the county without any private or public schools within its jurisdictional boundaries. The city continues to grow at a faster rate than areas of the surrounding county- . In response to this growth, there has been increased pressure and demand for a school to serve the school-age population in Midway. Over the last several years however, the school board has closed and consolidated schools to remediate unsatisfactory facilities and to effectively accommodate declining school enrollment across the district.
Midway recognizes that school closures and consolidations are likely to continue and that it is highly likely that the school district may consider adaptive re-use of unused school facilities. The city is also aware that the recent legislative requirements for a uniform school concurrency system may present an opportunity for the city and the school district to engage in discussions to address future spatial mismatches between the location of school infrastructure and population growth. Such opportunities will allow the city to be an active participant with the county and the school board in making decisions about future public school facilities.
6 Data and Analysis
2 DATA AND ANALYSIS: EXISTING CONDITIONS Gadsden County is located in North Florida bordering Leon, Liberty, and Jackson Counties with the State of Georgia along its northern edge. There are a total of six municipalities in the county: the Cities of Chattahoochee, Gretna, Midway and Quincy and the Towns of Greensboro and Gretna. The City of Quincy, the largest and most central city in the county, is the county seat and houses the county’s governmental offices. The City of Midway is located in the southeast portion of Gadsden County approximately 10 miles from the City of Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida’s state capitol (Map 2.1).
Map 2.1 City of Midway, Florida
7 Data and Analysis
For the purpose of the PSFE, existing conditions are important as they relate not only to the city and county’s population and housing development trends but also to the number and location of existing public schools. Because the City of Midway and Gadsden County’s land use and demographic characteristics are inter-connected to components of the public school system, the following section identifies past and projected city and county population, student enrollment data, housing development trends, and existing conditions for Gadsden County’s public school system. The student generation multiplier, which is the tool for projecting the demands of future growth on school capacity, is also developed below.
Population and Housing As with all datasets, the Gadsden County and City of Midway population data reported in this section have limitations that should be acknowledged. These limitations include, yet are not restricted to, their ability to capture the following demographic changes: surges in immigrant population; a restructuring of the real estate market – a particularly salient issue in light of the recent housing market downturn – which could create total population numbers that substantially deviate from the past trends reported herein; and unprecedented incidents of construction of new housing in currently undeveloped areas that have been approved for housing development, such as areas along the US 90 corridor between the City of Quincy and the City of Midway in the vicinity of the new East High School, which could also contribute to total population figures that significantly differ from past trends. These limitations should be kept in mind when considering the data reported below.
Total Population With a total population of 45,087 in 2000, Gadsden County was among the smallest counties in the state. Map 2.2 illustrates the total county population in 2000 by census block. This map shows that there is an even distribution of the population, with higher densities in incorporated Chattahoochee, Gretna, Havana, and Quincy.
8 Data and Analysis
Map 2.2 2000 Gadsden County Population Density
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
According to the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR), Gadsden County’s population is projected to increase slowly from 2010 to 2030 while the rate of growth actually decreases during the same period (Table 2.1).
Since incorporation in 1987, and the first census in 1990, the City of Midway has experienced a healthy rate of growth that outpaces Gadsden County’s (Table 2.1). In fact, in the 1990s, Midway was the fastest growing municipality in Gadsden County. While the largest municipalities, Quincy and Chattahoochee, experienced declining populations, Midway’s population increased by 70%. The only other municipalities showing population increase were Greensboro (6%) and Havana (4%) (Table 2.2).
Population projections for the City of Midway were calculated using a shift-share method. While the population of Midway is projected to increase through 2030, the rate at which the city grows is expected to decline. At the same time, however, it appears that the city’s share of the total county population will increase.
9 Data and Analysis
Additional information on the methodologies used to calculate Midway’s population projections are reported in Appendix A.
Table 2.1 City of Midway and Gadsden County Population & Projections 1990-2030 Gadsden County City of Midway Total Avg. 5-Year Total Avg. 5-Year City's Share of Year Population Growth Population Growth Gadsden 1990 41,105 852 2% 1995 44,734 8.8% 1,110 30.3% 2% 2000 45,087 0.8% 1,446 30.3% 3% 2005 47,713 5.8% 1,568 8.4% 3% 2010 50,100 5.0% 1,686 7.5% 3% 2015 51,800 3.4% 1,784 5.8% 3% 2020 53,500 3.3% 1,885 5.7% 4% 2025 55,000 2.8% 1,982 5.1% 4% 2030 56,400 2.5% 2,077 4.8% 4% % Change 1990 - 2005: 16.1% 84.0% % Change 2010 - 2030: 12.6% 23.2% Source: U.S. Census Bureau and BEBR
Table 2.2 Population Growth of Gadsden County Municipalities, 1990-2000 1990 2000 % Increase Chattahoochee 4,382 3,287 -25% Greensboro 586 619 6% Gretna 1,981 1,709 -14% Havana 1654 1713 4% Midway 852 1,446 70% Quincy 7,444 6,982 -6% Source: U.S. Census Bureau
School Age Population This section reports historic and projected student enrollment and school-age population for Gadsden County and the City of Midway – data vital to planning for future school facilities. Yet, as noted in the previous section, datasets are rarely perfect and therefore require critical assessments of their potential limitations. The data sets in this section are limited in the same way that overall population data are limited, and those limitations may affect the ability to accurately predict future school-age populations and student enrollments.
Historic Student Enrollment Historic student enrollment is often an important predictor of future enrollment trends, which in turn aids in understanding the scope of future needs for school facilities. Table 2.3 reports historic student enrollment for Gadsden County and the City of Midway for the 1996-1997 to 2005-2006 school years. Historic student enrollment includes those students who were enrolled in a Gadsden County public school at the beginning of the school year, but excludes all private,
10 Data and Analysis
charter, and home school enrollment. Historic student enrollment for the City of Midway is derived from Gadsden County’s student enrollment by the authors using the ratio technique (see Table B.2 in Appendix A for further explanation).
Table 2.3 reveals that Gadsden County’s public student enrollment has declined significantly and consistently over the past decade. This decrease may be attributable to increases in charter and home school enrollment within the county, or increases in enrollment for any school type outside of the county school district.
While the student enrollment for the county has declined over the past decade, the City of Midway’s student enrollment has experienced relatively small overall change during the same time period, although fluctuating from year to year. This suggests that the city may not be significantly contributing to the declining student enrollment of the county.
Table 2.3 Student Enrollment and Total Population, 1996-2006 Gadsden County City of Midway Student Student School Year Enrollment Percent Change Enrollment Percent Change 1996-97 8,551 216 1997-98 8,497 -0.6% 201 -7.2% 1998-99 8,360 -1.6% 195 -3.0% 1999-00 8,020 -4.1% 208 6.9% 2000-01 7,582 -5.5% 243 16.9% 2001-02 7,433 -2.0% 239 -1.7% 2002-03 7,195 -3.2% 234 -2.2% 2003-04 6,946 -3.5% 224 -4.2% 2004-05 6,651 -4.2% 211 -5.8% 2005-06 6,515 -2.0% 214 1.4% % Change 1996-2006 -23.8% -1.0% Source: Population data from U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Business and Economic Research; Student enrollment from Florida Department of Education
Projected Student Enrollment As noted previously, projections of student enrollment are essential for planning future school facilities. The Department of Education (DOE) provides average school enrollment projections for the school district on an annual basis. Known as the Capital Outlay Full-Time Equivalent or COFTE, the DOE is the sole source of these statistics and it does not provide projections at the municipality level. Thus, Table 2.4 reports the historic and projected average student enrollment by school year from 2004-2005 to 2017-2018 for Gadsden County. The assumption in this methodology is that student enrollment over the past five years is the best indicator of future student enrollment over the next ten years. This yields projections that are best suited to short- term planning periods, which explains why they do not necessarily conform to the typical planning horizon of twenty years. The DOE methodology is explained in the Best Practices
11 Data and Analysis
Guide for School Public Concurrency, published by the Florida Department of Community Affairs in April 2007.
Table 2.4 Gadsden County Average Student Enrollment, 2004-2018 Gadsden County School Year School Enrollment Percent Change Historic 2004-05 5,767 2005-06 5,825 1.0% 2006-07 5,867 0.7% Projected 2007-08 5,806 -1.0% 2008-09 5,761 -0.8% 2009-10 5,677 -1.5% 2010-11 5,580 -1.7% 2011-12 5,509 -1.3% 2012-13 5,476 -0.6% 2013-14 5,473 -0.1% 2014-15 5,481 0.1% 2015-16 5,498 0.3% 2016-17 5,519 0.4% 2017-18 5,542 0.4% % Change 2007-2018 -4.5% Source: Florida Department of Education
Consistent with historic patterns, Gadsden County’s average student enrollment is projected to decline over the projection period (2007 to 2018), although to a much lesser degree than historic declines. Average student enrollment declines are low and relatively consistent during the first several years of the projection horizon (through 2013-2014), with slight increases in student enrollment projected thereafter (Table 2.4). Due to this projected decline in student enrollment, Gadsden County will need to focus on management of existing school facilities that are currently in use, as well as management of those facilities that will no longer be utilized as student enrollment declines and stabilizes during the short-term planning period. Ensuring that school facilities are located in the areas of the county where future growth occurs will be a challenge for Gadsden County as well. Because Gadsden County’s total population is below 65,000 more specific population data are not reported by the U.S. Census.
Historic and Projected School-Age Population Analyzing current school-age population (ages five to seventeen), as well as projecting school- age population into the future, are also essential for planning for future school facilities needs. Table 2.5 shows historic and projected school-age population for Gadsden County from 2000 to 2030. School-age population differs from the COFTE school enrollment shown in Table 2.4 in important ways. First, there are methodological differences in the way each is projected. School-age population projections are based on historic trends and take into account future changes, such as aging population, while COFTE school enrollment projections use the past-five years to determine school enrollment projections over the next ten years. Second, COFTE student enrollment projections exclude charter, private, and home-school enrollment, while
12 Data and Analysis
BEBR school-age population projections include all school-age children regardless of school type. These differences result different projection curves for the two types of projected data sets (see Appendix A).This explains why student enrollment projections in Table 2.4 differ from school-age population projections in Table 2.5 during overlapping time periods (2007 to 2017). This distinction is important because although school-age population tells the number of potential students that may enroll in public school, it is not a true representation of the demands on public school capacity.
Table 2.5 indicates that Gadsden County’s school-age population (ages five to seventeen) declined approximately 8% from 2000 to 2005, which could be the result of aging population or out-migration. Yet, school-age population is projected to increase from 2005 through 2020, where it plateaus at approximately 9,000 persons. From 2020 through 2030, Gadsden County’s school-age population is projected to decline slightly despite projected population increases during this time period.
Table 2.5 Gadsden County School-Age Population, 2000-2030 School-Age Percent Total Percent Year Population Change Population Change Historic 2000 8,901 45,087 2005 8,236 -7.5% 47,713 5.8% Projected 2010 8,483 3.0% 50,106 5.0% 2015 8,906 5.0% 51,833 3.4% 2020 9,090 2.1% 53,472 3.2% 2025 8,955 -1.5% 54,977 2.8% 2030 8,893 -0.7% 56,376 2.5% % Change 2010-2030 4.8% 12.5% Source: U.S Census Bureau and the BEBR
13 Data and Analysis
Housing Characteristics The City of Midway has experienced a slightly larger than average household size as compared to Gadsden County despite a decrease in the average household size overall (Table 2.6). From 1990 to 2005, there was an estimated 87% increase in the number of housing units in Midway. The vacancy rate for both the county and the city has remained stable.
Table 2.6 Housing Units and Household Size 1990-2000 1990 2000 % Increase Gadsden Midway Gadsden Midway Gadsden Midway Population 41,105 852 45,087 1,446 10% 70% Total Housing Units 14,859 307 17,703 559 19% 82% Occupied Housing Units 13,405 266 15,867 481 18% 81% % Occupied Housing Units 90% 87% 90% 86% 0% -1% Vacant 1,454 41 1,836 78 26% 90% % Vacant 10% 13% 10% 14% 0% 8% Average Household Size 3.07 3.2 2.69 3.01 -12% -6% Source: U.S. Census Bureau
14 Data and Analysis
Development Trends Analysis of a three-year trend of sales transactions of residential properties in Midway indicates that the high number of transactions experienced between May 2005 and September 2006 was an anomaly and the transaction level has fallen back to average levels (Figure 2.1). Between 1990 and 2000 Census, Midway experienced an 81% increase in housing units, compared to Gadsden County’s 18% increase.
Figure 2.1 City of Midway Residential Sales Transactions, September 2004-August 2007 120
100
80
60
Number of Sales Number 40
20
0 4th Qtr 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007
Source: Gadsden County Property Appraiser
The 2000 U.S. Census reported that 94.4% of the City of Midway’s population are comprised of African-Americans. According to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), African-Americans, Hispanics and low-income individuals get sub-prime mortgages at higher rates than whites (non-Hispanic) and individuals with higher incomes. Sub-prime mortgages are defined as mortgages with interest rates that are at least three points higher than the equivalent rate on U.S. Treasury securities. The Center for Responsible Lending further notes that there is a causal relationship between the number of sub-prime mortgages and the increase in homeownership among African-Americans. The Center reports that between 1995 and 2005, the number of African-American households has increased by 20% while the number of African- American homeowners has increased by 35%. The increase in sub-prime mortgages may assist in trying explaining the increase in sales activity in the City of Midway in 2006. However, these types of mortgage instruments have become less available and could be one of the reasons for the recent declines in residential sales in Midway (Figure 2.1).
15 Data and Analysis
Building permits are another indicator of growth. Figure 2.2 illustrates that there have been significant numbers of permits issued from both Gadsden County and Midway in the past three years. The number of permits issued in Gadsden County from 2004-2006 was two-and-a-half times greater than the number of permits it issued from 2001-2003. In comparison, the number of permits issued by the City of Midway from 2004-2006 was eighteen times the number of permits it issued from 2001-2003. While building permits do not always translate into built units, US Census research indicates that for single family housing, fewer than 3% of permits are abandoned before construction begins (housing starts) and fewer than 4% of housing starts are not completed units (US Census).
Figure 2.2 Building Permits, Gadsden County and City of Midway, 2001-2006
500
470 458 450
400
350
300 294
250 255 204 200
150 128 130 106 100 75 50 16 19 11
0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Gadsden Midway
Source: US Census Bureau, Midway Comprehensive Plan, City of Midway
Midway has annexed nearly 1,000 acres since 2000.The Future Land Use Map (FLUM), as illustrated in Map 2.3, indicates a large tract of land, known as Orion’s Point, located along U.S. Highway 90 with a residential land use designation. With a maximum residential density of four units per acre, this largely undeveloped area (of approximately 1,500 acres) represents a significant development potential within the City of Midway. Future annexations will also result in increases in both population and housing units. Given the general increase in residential sales transactions and building permits, and the likely increase in land available for residential development within the City of Midway, future growth in the city will likely continue to outpace that of Gadsden County.
16 Data and Analysis
Map 2.3 City of Midway Future Land Use Map
17 Data and Analysis
Schools The Gadsden County School District is a small, rural district with approximately 7,000 students and 1,000 employees. Map 2.4 shows the location of schools within the county. Consistent with population density (shown previously in Map 2.2), the main concentration of schools in Gadsden County is centered on the City of Quincy. As evident by the map below, the City of Midway is the only incorporated city in the county with no public schools within its jurisdictional boundaries.
In total, the Gadsden County School District has 13 public schools and four special purpose schools including one charter school. A map series of individual school types follows in this section in order to show the general distribution across the county. Additionally, Table 2.7 below provides an inventory of school facilities within the district and establishes the basis for the district-wide capacity analysis.
Map 2.4 Gadsden County Schools
18 Data and Analysis
Table 2.7 Inventory of Gadsden County Public Schools, 2007 Elementary Location Grades Type Chattahoochee Elementary Chattahoochee PK-6 Public Gadsden Elementary Magnet Quincy PK-5 Public George Munroe Elementary Quincy PK-5 Public Greensboro Elementary Greensboro PK-6 Public Gretna Elementary Gretna PK-5 Public Havana Elementary Havana PK-5 Public St. Johns Elementary Quincy PK-5 Public Stewart Street Elementary Quincy PK-5 Public
Middle Location Grades Type Carter Parramore Academy Quincy 4-12 - Havana Middle School Havana 6-8 Public James A. Shanks Middle School Quincy 6-8 Public
High Location Grades Type East Gadsden High Havana 9-12 Public West Gadsden High Greensboro 7-12 Public
Special Purpose Location Grades Type Crossroads Academy** Quincy K-8 Charter Gadsden Central Academy** Quincy - Gadsden Technical Institute* Quincy 9-12 - Florida State Hospital** Chattahoochee K-12 - * Included in Gadsden County School District Work Program ** Not included in Gadsden County School District Work Program—see p. 23 for details. Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008; Florida Department of Education
19 Data and Analysis
Map 2.5 below shows the geographic distribution of elementary schools within the county. The greatest numbers of public schools serve elementary-aged children with schools fairly evenly distributed throughout the county. There are eight elementary schools in total: four in Quincy, and one each in Chattahoochee, Greensboro, Gretna and Havana. The fact most prominently highlighted by this map is that the City of Midway is the only municipality in Gadsden County without an elementary school.
Map 2.5 Gadsden County Elementary Schools
20 Data and Analysis
Three middle schools serve the student-aged population of the county: Havana Middle School in the City of Havana and James A. Shanks Middle School and Carter Parramore Academy in the City of Quincy (see Map 2.6).
Map 2.6 Gadsden County Middle Schools
21 Data and Analysis
Gadsden County contains two high schools, East and West Gadsden High, which are situated just as their name suggests on opposite sides of the county with one along U.S. Highway 90 East (mailing address is Havana) and one in Greensboro (see Map 2.7). West Gadsden High School, the newest school in the county, only recently opened in August 2007.
Map 2.7 Gadsden County High Schools
22 Data and Analysis
Gadsden County has four special purpose schools: three in Quincy and one in Chattahoochee (see Map 2.8). Gadsden Technical Institute, an alternative pubic school in Quincy serves grades 9-12 and is the only special purpose school in the work program and is therefore included in permanent capacity calculations for the district. This is not true of the other three special purpose schools that are not included in the work program and thereby not used to determine district-wide capacity.
Florida Statutes state that charter schools are excluded from the school district’s capacity calculations. Crossroads Academy is a charter school in Quincy and is one of the schools excluded from the district’s work program. Gadsden Central Academy is a public school that serves severely disabled Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students. Because of its use and programmatic objectives, the Gadsden County School District excludes it from district capacity calculations. Florida State Hospital is a state-run children’s mental health facility and the Gadsden County School District provides educational services to school-age children that are admitted. However, because the hospital functions as a ‘specialty’ school—like Gadsden Central Academy—it is not included in the capacity calculations.
Map 2.8 Gadsden County Special Purpose Schools
23 Data and Analysis
The City of Midway currently has no public or alternative schools within its city boundaries. Therefore, school-aged children residing in Midway are bused to the following schools based upon designated school attendance zones: Havana Elementary, Havana Middle and East Gadsden High (see Map 2.9). The school attendance zone maps can be found later in this chapter.
Map 2.9 Schools Attended by Midway School-Aged Children
24 Data and Analysis
Guidelines for Development of Schools The educational plant survey, pursuant to Chapter 1013.31, Florida Statutes, is a systematic study that helps counties and their municipalities plan for sheltering their educational programs, student population, faculty, administrators, staff, and auxiliary and ancillary services of the district or campus. The Florida Department of Education (DOE) requires that each county conduct a survey at least every five years and turn in for review to the Office of Educational Facilities. Gadsden County last conducted a survey in December 2005, reporting the current public school facilities and the estimated needs of the Gadsden County School District through 2010-2011.
Gadsden County School District has no plans to build any new schools during the next five-year planning horizon. However, any future plans to build new schools should be developed using guidelines provided by the DOE. A brief description of these guidelines is provided below.
A school site should be adequate to address existing needs based on school programs and enrollment and to allow for future expansion and development. Sites chosen for new schools should minimize transportation and infrastructure costs and should be sized so that they provide adequate space for school buildings, queuing for parent and bus loading and unloading, off-street parking, playground areas and stormwater retention.
Gadsden County School District, in meeting the requirements for the education plant survey, must take a survey of the educational facilities in the district. The survey must include an inventory of each facility’s student capacity, student stations, gross square footage of buildings, and facilities utilization. Student capacity is defined as the maximum number of students that a school facility is designed to accommodate. The area necessary for a student to engage in a learning activity is termed a “student station,” the measure of a student station varies by educational activity.
Since elementary school students are generally only assigned to one classroom throughout the day, student capacity in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade is equal to the number of student stations. In middle and high schools however, students change classrooms and move about the school every hour of the day making scheduling of classes especially important. This can become a factor in calculating the number of students, student stations, and also in calculating school capacity.
To guide its facilities planning efforts, the Gadsden County School Board has established the minimum land requirements (in acres), minimum space requirements, and utilization rates, in Table 2.8 below. These sizes could change over the next five years however as a result of statutory changes or if found to be inadequate by the school board in planning for new educational facilities.
25 Data and Analysis
Table 2.8 Minimum Guidelines for New School Facilities Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools (Grades Pre-K – 5) (Grades 6 – 8) (Grades 9 – 12) Gadsden Florida Gadsden Florida Gadsden Florida Min. Land (acre) 10 13 26 Student Capacity 807 600-800 1,005 900-1080 1,533 1620-1800 Student Stations 807 600-800 1,117 1000-1200 1,614 1800-2000 Gross sq. ft. 117,235 177,171 245,590 Utilization 100% 90% 95% Source: Gadsden County School Board, 2007
Co-Location and Shared Use of Schools Due to the costs of land and sometimes scarce financial resources the co-location or joint uses of schools to other public facilities can be beneficial in planning for growth. Compatible public uses such as parks, recreation, libraries and other community facilities can be collaboratively planned by local governments and the school district as a way to serve educational needs and enrich community life in a cost effective way. Jointly using schools and other public facilities can enhance the overall educational environment through the creation of community-based programs that make schools the focal point of the community activity.
Gadsden County School District has no joint or shared-use of facilities other than the two newest schools, East and West Gadsden High, which have been built to serve as hurricane evacuation centers for the county. At present, there are no plans to build any new educational facilities within the five year planning horizon. For this reason, the Public Schools Facilities Element does not include the required map series [9J-5.025(4)(b) F.A.C. and 163.3177(12)(h) F.S.] depicting the planned general location of public school facilities, ancillary plants and renovated facilities by year for the short- and long-term planning periods. However, in spite of this, collaborative planning should continue to take place between the local government, its municipalities and school board in finding opportunities for coordinating the location of schools with public facilities creating focal points within the community while conserving crucial public funds.
26 Data and Analysis
Current State of District Schools The most prominent problem facing Gadsden County School District is declining student enrollment with the consequence of reduced funding for school facilities. To address these problems the Gadsden County School District has established a “long range facilities plan to build new schools, close down schools that are underutilized and/or in poor condition and consolidate students into newer and fewer schools” (Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability (OPPAGA), 2003, p.7-1). To this end, Gadsden County School District has completed construction of one new high school, closed two schools (Havana Northside Senior High and Chattahoochee Senior High) and will transfer and consolidate students at one elementary school (Greensboro Elementary) into an existing school facility by the end of the 2007-2008 school year. More information on facility conditions can be found in Appendix A under “Facilities”.
Capacity Analysis Evaluating the relationship between present and future enrollment and school capacity is fundamental to effective school facilities planning and the evaluation of level of service standards. The level of service or utilization is used to indicate the capacity per unit of demand for each public school facility (Rule 9J-5.003, F.A.C.). The capacity analysis for district schools within Gadsden County was conducted using two primary pieces of data: (1) the 2007-2008 permanent Florida Inventory of School Houses (FISH) capacity and (2) the 2006-2007 Capital Outlay Full Time Equivalent (COFTE) numbers. FISH or permanent FISH capacity is a term that must be defined so that the assessment of district-wide capacity is consistent with existing methodologies. The COFTE numbers are generally reported using the previous school year’s estimates of student enrollment since it is the best measure of how many student stations were physically occupied at each school facility. Though student counts are generally conducted four times throughout the school year, the fall and spring counts are the most reflective of “on the ground” student numbers.
FISH capacity, a statistic used by the DOE, is a product of the number of classrooms at a school and the student stations assigned to each room type. It is used to identify how much physical space is being occupied at each school and can be assessed in a variety of ways including permanent satisfactory student stations, satisfactory student stations assigned to portables or total student stations from permanent and relocatable facilities (DCA, 2006). This report defines FISH capacity as the total number of satisfactory student stations in both permanent and relocatable facilities adjusted by the utilization factor for each type of school. Permanent FISH capacity includes only the satisfactory permanent student stations adjusted by the utilization factor for each school type. Temporary capacity from relocatable facilities is not included in the permanent FISH calculation. The utilization factor, which is already included in the FISH capacity calculation (CBBC, 2007) accounts for the different operational use of space by students in elementary, middle and high schools. The utilization factor is applied to middle and high schools since these students move about throughout the course of a school-day and as such do not maximize use of the classroom facility. The utilization factor adjusts permanent student stations by 10% for middle schools and 5% for high schools (CBBC, 2007). Elementary schools are not adjusted by a utilization factor because students in those classes stay in the same classroom for the entire school-day thereby maximizing usage of classroom space.
27 Data and Analysis
Though FISH capacity is the recommended DOE methodology for calculating capacity it does not “reflect the actual programs at the schools and the impact of changing demographics” (DCA, 2006, p.19) and as such can over-estimate actual capacity at school facilities. It is argued that program capacity would be a better representation of the actual use of a school’s space because it accounts for all programs such as special need students’ usage and special school programs that would not otherwise be considered capacity. FISH capacity is assigned wherever students are taught and does not take into account the special programs and how permanent classroom spaces will be utilized in that session, e.g. science lab or resource room. FISH capacity also disregards the core capacity issues that may arise in schools that “have severe restraints on support spaces” (DCA, p.21) as may be presented by core services including cafeterias and libraries. School district policies to include or exclude relocatables from the analysis may also inflate the capacity reported by the district. Although, temporary capacity provided by relocatables allows the school district flexibility when planning for expenditures, the temporal nature of including this capacity in calculations can inflate capacity and “confuse the real need for educational facilities” (DCA, p.22).
The Gadsden County Interlocal Agreement for Public Schools Facility Planning identifies the DOE’s permanent capacity as the accepted methodology for calculating school capacity. Though the interlocal agreement does not define permanent capacity, it is assumed that the Gadsden County School Board will use permanent FISH in capacity determinations. The DCA Best Practices Guide for Public School Concurrency indicates that this DOE methodology may or may not include relocatable student stations. Without specifically addressing relocatables in the interlocal agreement, it has been assumed herein that relocatable facilities are not to be included in calculating capacity.
The level of service is based on the capacity of the facility or the number of pupils to be served by the facility. The level of service is expressed as a percentage of student enrollment to the student capacity. The Gadsden County interlocal agreement indicates that the level of service for the district is 100% so any school that is operating below 100% has excess capacity that can be used to accommodate new students.
Though the Gadsden County School District work program provided data on all public schools that were considered for capacity tracking within the county, it did not provide data on all the special purpose schools. Of the four special purpose schools, only Gadsden Technical Institute which offers vocational classes for both high school students (grades 10-12) and adults is included in the district’s capacity assessment. Crossroads Academy is a charter school and according to the school planning statute, these schools are excluded from district capacity calculations. Gadsden Central Academy is a public, district school that serves severely disabled Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students and because of its use and programmatic objectives the Gadsden County School District excludes it from district capacity calculations. Florida State Hospital is a state-run children’s mental health facility and though the Gadsden County School District provides educational services to the students there the school is not included in the capacity calculations. Schools that were scheduled for closure due to facility disrepair are also not included in the capacity analysis (e.g. Havana Northside Senior High). The student numbers reported on the Gadsden County School District work program for West Gadsden High School (old) have been consolidated into West Gadsden High School (new) so that only one West Gadsden school facility is reported in Table 2.9.
28 Data and Analysis
The Gadsden County School District Facilities Work Program provided all data necessary for conducting the capacity analysis and examination of said data revealed that the district currently utilizes 47% of its total school capacity. The current Gadsden County School District facilities work program presents relocatable student stations separately from permanent student stations and it could not be verified through contact with Gadsden County School District if the relocatables are included in the capacity calculations. Given that DOE recommends that permanent FISH capacity be used to calculate district capacity it was decided that relocatables would be examined separately. In 2007-2008, the COFTE student count was 5,868 while the permanent FISH capacity reported was 9,909 across all county public schools (See Table 2.9).
Upon further inspection, the highest level of service or utilization is 86% at George Munroe Elementary while the lowest is level of service 11% at Gadsden Technical Institute. Average level of service by school types are: elementary – 64%, middle – 47%, and high – 65%, resulting in a district average level of service of 47%.
Table 2.9 Capacity Analysis for Gadsden County Schools, 2007-2008 2007-2008 Permanent 2006-2007 Utilization School Name FISH Capacity COFTE 2007-2008 Elementary Schools Chattahoochee Elementary 503 212 42% Gadsden Elementary Magnet 226 129 57% George Munroe Elementary 859 739 86% Greensboro Elementary 524 399 76% Gretna Elementary 457 296 65% Havana Elementary 896 481 54% St. John Elementary 444 319 72% Stewart Street Elementary 805 508 63% Total 4,714 3,083 Average 64% Middle Schools Carter Parramore Alternative 1,005 349 35% Havana Middle 517 251 49% James A. Shanks 1,124 646 57% Total 2,646 1,246 Average 47% High Schools East Gadsden High 1,527 1,075 70% West Gadsden High 727 432 59% Total 2,254 1,507 Average 65% Special Purpose Schools
Gadsden Technical Institute 295 32 11% Total 295 32 Average 11% DISTRICT TOTAL (public schools) 9,909 5,868 DISTRICT AVERAGE (public schools) 47% Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
29 Data and Analysis
Figures 2.3 through 2.5 visually represent the levels of service by school type using permanent FISH capacity.
Figure 2.3 Gadsden County Elementary School Utilization, 2007-2008
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
Level of Service/Utililzation of Level 0%
hee agnet Johns treet ooc M Gretna . S h Havana t ta St Greensboro wa r hat e C adsden George Munroe St G Elementary Schools
Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
Figure 2.4 Gadsden County Middle School Utilization, 2007-2008
80%
60%
40%
20% Level of Service/Utilization of Level
0% Carter Parramore Alternative Havana Middle James A. Shanks Middle Schools
Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
30 Data and Analysis
Figure 2.5 Gadsden County High School and Special Purpose School Utilization, 2007-2008
80%
n 60%
40%
Level of Service/Utilizatio 20%
0% East Gadsden High West Gadsden High Gadsden Technical Institute High Schools and Special Purpose School
Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
31 Data and Analysis
Table 2.10 which includes the district’s relocatable student stations at all schools reveals that if the district includes relocatables in its capacity calculations, the district average level of service decreases by 3% to 44%. This 3% decrease inflates the available capacity for new students since it is based on the inclusion of temporary capacity provided by portable facilities and does not provide an accurate representation of actual capacity available by school type. In fact, the number of relocatable facilities used in any school year can vary depending on the flux of students in the school year (e.g. more elementary students or migrant school-aged children).
Table 2.10 Capacity Analysis for Gadsden County Schools with Relocatables, 2007-2008 School Name 2007-2008 2006-2007 LOS FISH Capacity COFTE
Elementary Schools Chattahoochee Elementary 597 212 36% Gadsden Elementary Magnet 226 129 57% George Munroe Elementary 1,037 739 71% Greensboro Elementary 580 399 69% Gretna Elementary 493 296 60% Havana Elementary 1,048 481 46% St. John Elementary 462 319 69% Stewart Street Elementary 927 508 55% Total 5,370 3,083 Average 58% Middle Schools Carter Parramore Alternative 1,081 349 32% Havana Middle 517 251 49% James A. Shanks 1,264 646 51% Total 2,862 1,246 Average 44% High Schools East Gadsden High 1,527 1,075 70% West Gadsden High 727 432 59% Total 2,254 1,507 Average 65% Special Purpose Schools Gadsden Technical Institute 395 32 8% Total 395 32 Average 8%
DISTRICT TOTAL (Public Schools) 10,881 5,868 DISTRICT AVERAGE (Public Schools) 44% Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
32 Data and Analysis
Projections for the five year planning horizon for Gadsden County public schools reveals that though COFTE numbers will be dropping district-wide at elementary and high schools, enrollment at the district’s middle schools is projected to increase. This results in the projected utilization rates of middle schools ranging from 58 % to 91% - a difference of 23% to 34% (see Table 2.11). Figure 2.6 confirms that middle school utilization in 2011-2012 will be higher than in previous school years.
Table 2.11 Five Year Planning Horizon - Current and Projected Utilization by School 2007-2008 2006-2007 Utilization Projected Projected Permanent Actual 2011- 2012 Utilization FISH COFTE COFTE 2011- 2012 School Name Capacity Elementary Chattahoochee Elementary 503 212 42% 125 25% Havana Elementary 896 481 54% 275 31% Gadsden Elementary Magnet 226 129 57% 105 46% Stewart Street Elementary 805 508 63% 465 58% Gretna Elementary 457 296 65% 175 38% St. John Elementary 444 319 72% 174 39% Greensboro Elementary 524 399 76% 325 62% George Munroe Elementary 859 739 86% 535 62% Total 4,714 3,083 2,179 Average 64% 45% Middle Carter Parramore Academy 1,005 349 35% 585 58% Havana Middle 517 251 49% 425 82% James A. Shanks 1,124 646 57% 1,025 91% Total 2,646 1,246 2,035 Average 47% 77% High East Gadsden High 1,527 1,075 70% 875 57% West Gadsden High 727 432 59% 350 48% Total 2,254 1,507 1,225 Average 65% 53% Special Purpose Gadsden Technical Institute 295 32 11% 70 24% Total 295 32 70 Average 11% 24% DISTRICT TOTAL 9,614 5,836 5,439 DISTRICT AVERAGE 47% 50% Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
33 Data and Analysis
Figure 2.6 Five Year Planning Horizon - Current and Projected Utilization by School 100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30% Level ofservice/utilization 20%
10%
0% y y y y h h r r ry ry r le g ta ta a my d i n n nta e Hig H e ent Mid n n menta m me m a le leme Acad n sde sde E Ele e a d d a t Ele E r v a a n n Elementaryro o a h o Ha G G tree b am t v r James A. Shankss oochee S Gretna Ele r h Ha rt St. Jo ens Ea West a e Pa tt r a G h Stewa eorge Munroearter Elementar C G C Gadsden Elementary Magnet Schools Current Utilization 2007-2008 Projected Utilization 2011-2012
Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
Long Range Planning In order to adequately anticipate the capacity issues that may face the district, it is necessary to engage in long range planning, usually defined for 10 year and 20 year planning time horizons. The Gadsden County School District Work Program’s 10 year and 20 year planned utilization at district schools (see Figure 2.7) underscores the current situation of declining enrollment in Gadsden County’s public school. The most significant declines are projected to occur at middle schools within the district. Although middle school utilization is projected to increase substantially by 2016-2017, it will drop significantly by 2026-2027. Elementary and high schools are also projected to decline; however these rate reductions are more moderate.
It is also important to note that both the 10 year and the 20 year long range plans for the district do not include projections for altering current student capacity. The district projects that in 2016-2017 and 2026-2027, no new student stations will be added or removed, indicating that permanent FISH capacity by school type will remain unchanged.
34 Data and Analysis
Figure 2.7 10 & 20 Year Planning Horizon - Current & Projected Utilization by School Type 80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
Level of service/utilization 20%
10%
0% Elem.(District totals) Middle (District Totals) High (District Totals) Other (ESE)
School Type Projections
2006-2007 Utilization 2016-2017 Utilization 2026-2027 Utilization
Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008.
Relocatables (Portables) The Gadsden County School District Facilities Work Program identifies that 21% of COFTE students were educated in portables in the 2007-2008 school year. The district projects that by 2011-2012, 14% of the COFTE students will be educated in relocatables, a loss of 357 students relative to the 1,237 students that are currently educated in relocatables. The losses are primarily due to closures of school facilities and transfers of those students into new or existing school facilities within the district. The closed school facilities include: Chattahoochee Senior High School, Havana Northside Senior High School, and old West Gadsden High School. Table 2.12 shows the number of relocatable student stations by school for the current five year planning period.
35 Data and Analysis
Table 2.12 Relocatable Student Stations: Current and Projected 5-Year School Name 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 Average Elementary Chattahoochee Elementary 94 0 0 0 0 19 Havana Elementary 152 152 152 152 152 152 Gadsden Elementary Magnet 0 0 0 0 0 0 Stewart Street Elementary 122 90 90 72 72 89 Gretna Elementary 36 18 18 18 18 22 St. John Elementary 18 18 18 0 0 11 Greensboro Elementary 56 0 0 0 0 11 George Munroe Elementary 178 178 178 178 178 178 Middle Carter Parramore Alternative 76 0 0 0 0 15 Havana Middle 0 0 0 0 0 0 James A. Shanks 140 140 140 140 140 140 High East Gadsden High 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Gadsden High (New) 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Gadsden High (Old) 265 126 126 108 90 143 Gadsden Technical Institute 100 100 100 100 100 100 TOTALS for Gadsden County School District Total students in relocatables by year 1,237 822 822 768 750 880 Total number of COFTE students projected by year 5,872 5,672 5,585 5,488 5,416 5,606 Percent in relocatables by year 21% 14% 15% 14% 14% 16% Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
Of the 13 public schools in the district, four do not currently use relocatable facilities and are not projected to be adding student stations in relocatable facilities by 2011-2012. These schools include the Gadsden Elementary Magnet School, Havana Middle School, East Gadsden High School, and West Gadsden High School. In an effort to ensure compliance with the Class Size Amendment requirement, the Gadsden County School District also leases five classroom facilities at four additional school facilities within the district. Projections through 2011-2012 indicate that these leased classroom facilities will no longer be required (see Table 2.13). For instance, Table 2.13 indicates that West Gadsden High School will no longer need a 20-station facility, a direct reflection of the added capacity provided by the construction of the new West Gadsden High School. The future transfer of students at Greensboro Elementary School to the existing Greensboro Middle School also contributes to the reduced need for relocatable facilities since there is more physical capacity at the transfer site.
Based on these statistics, it would appear that the Gadsden County School Board could reduce its use of relocatable facilities. Information obtained from the Gadsden County School Board indicates that relocatables were primarily employed to meet the class size reduction mandate, however, current initiatives by the Gadsden County School Board to consolidate and close old and under- utilized facilities will result in better utilization of permanent space which would in turn reduce the need for relocatable facilities.
36 Data and Analysis
Table 2.13 Leased Facilities Tracking # of Leased FISH # of Leased FISH Classrooms Student Classrooms Student School Name Owner 2007-2008 Stations 2011-2012 Stations Havana Elementary Modular Space Corporation 1220 0 Greensboro Elementary Modular Space Corporation 2230 0 Chattahoochee Elementary School Board 1180 0 West Gadsden High School (old) Modular Space Corporation 1200 0 TOTAL 5 83 0 0 Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008
Ancillary Facilities Ancillary facilities provide general support for the operational activities of the Gadsden County School District and are separate from the individual school facilities and related instructional services provided to students. The Midway Magnet Program is one exception to this general rule because the facility is listed under the auspices of the M. D. Walker Administrative Center located at 35 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Quincy. This program is currently housed in relocatable units until a permanent location is found. The M. D. Walker Administrative Center is listed as the largest ancillary facility with five permanent buildings occupying 22 acres (see Table 2.14).
The transportation facility located on Shepard Street in Quincy occupies 20 acres. The school bus depot and all related maintenance for school buses are located at this facility. Administrative offices related to transportation are also housed at this location. Map 2.10 provides a spatial reference for the ancillary facilities detailed in this section and presented in Table 2.14.
Table 2.14 Ancillary Facilities Inventory Permanent Relocatable Facility Buildings Units Acreage M. D. Walker Administrative Center - - 22 Midway Pre K Program - 3 Administrative Building 1 - Facilities 1 - Food Services 1 - Warehouse 1 - Head Start Program 1 - Transportation 1 - 20 TOTAL 6 3 42 Source: Gadsden County Educational Plant Survey, 2005; Personal Interview with Gadsden County Facilities Director, September, 2007
37 Data and Analysis
Map 2.10 Gadsden County School Board Ancillary Facilities
38 Data and Analysis
In addition to the ancillary facilities noted above, the Gadsden County School Board inventory contains several former school facilities that are no longer in service. These are the buildings that have remained after consolidations or relocations. Map 2.11 below shows the location of these facilities as of January 2008. Although it may appear that the school board has a surplus of facilities to meet any future capacity needs, many of these facilities are outdated, and would require extensive, if not cost-prohibitive, renovations in order to become operational to today’s school standards.
Map 2.11 Gadsden County School Board Vacant School Facilities
39 Data and Analysis
Funding for Capital Improvements The Gadsden County School Board Budget for fiscal year 2007-2008 categorizes available funds for planned capital projects. The budget balances the total applicable estimated revenue with the estimated appropriations to determine the anticipated fund balance for the next fiscal year. In order to examine and interpret the budget, it is important to understand how public schools in the State of Florida are funded.
School districts within Florida receive money from a variety of sources, including the Florida Education Finance Program, the Public Education Capital Outlay, and Capital Outlay and Debt Service. Local revenue for schools is levied from property taxes by county on properties within the district. In Florida all school districts share the boundaries of counties. Together, these funds are used to increase operational and programmatic capacity within the district for the benefit of the students living within that district.
Florida Education and Finance Program (FEFP) The FEFP serves as the primary mechanism for ensuring that school districts receive necessary funding resources for improvements. Florida school districts receive state funding through the FEFP, which was established by the Florida Legislature in 1973 with the intention of guaranteeing that all students in the public school system will have equal access to programs and services appropriate to their educational needs notwithstanding geographic differences and varying local economic factors. To provide equalization of educational opportunity in Florida, the FEFP formula recognizes (1) varying local property tax bases, (2) varying program cost factors, (3) district cost differentials, and (4) differences in per student cost for equivalent educational programs due to dispersion of student population.
The funding provided by FEFP is based upon the numbers of individual students participating in particular educational programs. A numerical value is assigned to each student according to the student's hours and days of attendance in those programs. The individual student thus becomes equated to a numerical value known as an FTE (full-time equivalent) student. The amount of state and local FEFP funds is calculated by the Department of Education by multiplying the number of un-weighted FTE students in each educational program by the specific cost factor of each program to obtain weighted FTEs. Weighted FTEs are multiplied by the base student allocation amount and that product is multiplied by the appropriate cost differential factor. Various adjustments are then added to this product to obtain the total state and local FEFP dollars. All cost factors, the base student allocation amount, cost differential factors, and various adjustment figures are established by the Florida Legislature.
Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) Pursuant to Article XII, Section 9, of the Florida Constitution, PECO funds are derived from a gross receipts tax on utilities, and are appropriated as cash or bond proceeds to each school district. Funds are allocated from a lump sum appropriation to the 67 school districts based upon a formula in Section 1013.64(1)(a), F.S. Funded projects must have been recommended in an educational plant
40 Data and Analysis survey. Primarily, PECO funds are used to construct new schools, special facilities or to perform maintenance and repair on existing facilities.
School districts that lack sufficient resources may receive PECO funds in a Special Facilities account to meet urgent construction needs. The project must be approved by the Special Facilities Committee and the district must commit all available revenue for a three year period. Charter schools may also receive PECO funds if they meet the criteria outlined in Section 1013.62, F.S. (DOE, 2007a).
Capital Outlay & Debt Service (CO&DS) Pursuant to Article XII, Section 9(d), of the Florida Constitution, capital facility bonds are issued by the state on behalf of districts and funded by lottery revenue. Bond proceeds shall be expended first for providing permanent classroom and core facilities. If over 9% of a district’s total square footage is more than fifty years old, the district must spend at least twenty-five percent (25%) of its allocation on the renovation, repair, or remodeling of existing schools. These funds are fully expended, non-recurring and paid for from the school districts’ lottery funds.
The funds received from the tax on motor vehicle licenses are available to school districts for capital outlay purposes. These CO&DS funds may be used to acquire, build, construct, alter, remodel, improve, enlarge, furnish, equip, maintain, renovate, or repair capital outlay projects in the district.
Classrooms for Kids These funds are appropriated to school districts to implement the required class size reduction program mandated by the Florida legislature. By 2010-2011, class sizes must be amended to reflect, 18 students in PK-3, 22 students in grades 4-8, and 25 students in grades 9-12 (DOE, 2007a). The funds provided by this program can only be used to fund projects identified in the district’s five- year work program adopted prior to March, 15, 2003. If the district is already meeting student station capacity, it can opt to use the funds to renovate, remodel or repair existing facilities.
Local revenue School districts and subsequently the school boards may levy up to a maximum of 2 mills as prescribed in Section 1011.71 (2), F.S. The revenue earned from this tax may be spent on (1) the educational plant (2) expenditures directly related to student instruction (3) space conversion (4) new school’s library media center, (5) school buses or (6) servicing of payments related to certificates of participation (DOE, 2007a). School districts may share a portion of these funds with charter schools for expenditures identified in Section 1013.62 (2), F.S. School districts also have the discretion as provided for in Section 212.055(6), F.S. to levy sales surtax of 0.5 percent if approval is obtained by referendum (DOE, 2007a).
41 Data and Analysis
Financial Feasibility of Gadsden County District Work Program The Florida Department of Education (DOE) requires all school districts to submit a district work program that itemizes the funding sources, anticipated revenue and expenditures, as well as any new construction or renovation projects for the five year planning period. The work program is then reviewed by DOE to ensure that it is financially feasible, i.e. that it can be implemented over the course of the short term planning period without any significant deficits since this may negatively affect future planning for district school facilities.
In order to adequately estimate the burdens that will be placed on the available budget, the Gadsden County School District facilities work program was examined to identify if there were any long range school facility construction projects. Construction projects place burdens on available budget since it limits the resources available for renovations, improvements and additions. In 2005-2006, the Gadsden County School District facilities work program identified the construction of a new west side high school with 600 student stations at a cost of $20, 100,000. The new West Gadsden High School officially opened in August, 2007 and cost $33, 500 per student station. The 2007- 2008 Gadsden County School District facilities work program did not identify any new construction projects, however, repayment for the West Gadsden High School is anticipated to be complete by late 2008.
According to Table 2.15, in 2007-2008 the itemize Gadsden County School District d one-time expenditures using the 2 mill allowance which included a Special Facilities Account for re-payment for the new West Gadsden High School. Other expenditures itemized for that year are general expenditures including but not limited to upgrading classrooms, marker boards, HVAC units, plumbing and electrical replacements. The Classroom for Kids funding was discontinued in 2007- 2008 and no further funding or appropriations will be expected from the Florida Legislature.
Table 2.15 highlights that the district is levying the maximum millage allowable under the statute with the resulting revenue from this source totaling approximately $16 million over the five year planning period. The net budget projected to be available to the district over the short term planning period is approximately $13 million guaranteeing that Gadsden County has a financially feasible work program. This projected surplus can be used for new construction or renovation of existing schools within the district. The revenue projected to be available to the Gadsden County School District cannot be tied to any one school or school type since money is appropriated to schools based on a needs assessment. Therefore, this district-wide total may be spent either entirely or partially at any existing school within the district.
Given the financial resources of the Gadsden County School District as outlined in Table 2.15, the City of Midway should engage the Gadsden County School District in discussions that could result in the construction of a new school facility within Midway’s city limits. Though the district is consolidating and closing under-utilized and old facilities, it should also consider where new school facilities should be sited given the current growth projections for the City of Midway.
42 Data and Analysis
Table 2.15 Estimated Capital Outlay Revenue 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 Projected Projected Projected Projected Actual Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget 5 Yr Total Millage projected for discretionary capital outlay per s.1011.71 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Value of portion of 2 Mills ACTUALLY levied $2,736,173 $2,927,705 $3,132,644 $3,351,929 $3,586,564 $15,735,015 2 Mill Expenditures for maintenance, repair, and renovation $4,538,166 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,538,166 Other expenditures for maintenance, repair and renovation $1,113,000 $666,000 $410,000 $295,000 $210,000 $2,694,000 Net available 2 Mill for new construction -$2,914,993 $2,261,705 $2,722,644 $3,056,929 $3,376,564 $8,502,849 PECO new construction $1,103,968 $293,758 $160,145 $235,404 $251,778 $2,045,053 Classroom for Kids $2,694,027 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,694,027 CO & DS Maximum Proceeds $47,870 $47,870 $47,870 $47,870 $47,870 $239,350 Sales tax $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Effort Index Grants $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Impact fees $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Private donations $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Net Available for Capacity $930,872 $2,603,333 $2,930,659 $3,340,203 $3,676,212 $13,481,279 Source: Gadsden County School District Work Program, 2007-2008.
School Capacity Needs The capacity analysis for the Gadsden County School District indicates that the district has a surplus of capacity for all school types. The surplus is expected to remain throughout the five year planning period and as such, the district does not have to identify areas where new schools need to be built and/or additional student stations need to be located to offset demand. In short, capacity exists to meet the demand that may be created by new residential development. However if, the district did not have excess capacity, it would be required to identify how and where its’ needs could be met relative to delineated concurrency service areas.
Concurrency service areas are used to identify the areas within which the level of service will be measured. If the level of service is exceeded within the designated concurrency service area, students can be shifted to another concurrency service area where the level of service can be maintained. Local governments have the flexibility to identify concurrency service areas as either district wide or less-than-district wide. For school districts with a lack of capacity, the Best Practices Guide for School Concurrency recommends that district wide concurrency service areas be adopted initially (Section 163.3180 (13)(c)1.and 2), so as to not place a further strain on the local school system. As of October 2007, Gadsden County has not formally adopted its interlocal agreement designating specific concurrency service areas within the district.
43 Data and Analysis
Maps 2.12 through 2.14 show the current school attendance zones by school type within the county. These maps were digitized by the FPDL consulting team using the legal descriptions provided by the Gadsden County School District and reflect updates made through 2004. The consulting team contacted and made recommendations to the school board indicating the need for updates to these zones based on recent school closings and consolidations. In response, the district has indicated that it has no plans to update the school attendance zones. Upon completion of updates to the interlocal agreement , the school district may decide to use school attendance zones as their concurrency service areas.
Map 2.12 shows the seven designated elementary school zones within Gadsden County, with each zone containing one or more elementary schools. Each zone is representatively named for the school that lies within its zone with the exception of the George Monroe zone, which also contains Gadsden Elementary Magnet school. As stated previously and indicated by the map, Havana Elementary serves the school-aged population of the City of Midway.
Map 2.12 Elementary School Attendance Zones
44 Data and Analysis
Map 2.13 shows the seven middle school attendance zones for Gadsden County. It is evident from this map and from subsequent conversations with the school board that these zones have not been updated since school closings and consolidations have taken place in the district. The only zones that include schools within their boundaries are Havana and Quincy. The zones to the west of the county represent zones that were once but no longer applicable. School-aged children residing in these western zones would therefore be bused to one of the two schools in the City of Quincy. Again, school-aged children in Midway would attend Havana Middle School to the north of the city.
Map 2.13 Middle School Attendance Zones
45 Data and Analysis
Map 2.14 shows the five high school attendance zones for Gadsden County. Again, these zones have not recently been updated reflecting closings, consolidations and the recent opening of West Gadsden High School. The only zones that include schools within their boundaries are Quincy- Havana and Greensboro. Conversations with the Gadsden County School Board revealed that school-aged children residing in the western zones of Chattahoochee, Greensboro and Tracts A & B attend West Gadsden High School in the City of Greensboro. School-aged children in Havana, Midway & Quincy attend East Gadsden High School.
Map 2.14 High School Attendance Zones
46 Waiver to School Concurrency
3 WAIVER TO SCHOOL CONCURRENCY The following section outlines the statutory requirements within FS 163.3177 that provide criteria for Florida counties to apply to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a waiver from the Public School Facilities Element (PSFE) requirements and for municipalities in nonexempt counties to apply for an exemption from the requirement. Also, this section examines the best available data to determine whether or not Gadsden County or the City of Midway is eligible for either waiver or exemption, respectively.
Legal Foundation Subsections 163.3177(12)(a) and 163.3177(12)(b) of Florida Statutes state the listed criteria for qualification for county waiver and municipality exemption which temporarily eliminates the county or individual municipality from mandatory adoption of a PSFE.
Subsection 163.3177(12)(a), states that counties may be provided with a waiver that temporarily relieves the county, and all the municipalities within the county, from the required transmission of a PSFE. However, counties must prove that it satisfies all criteria. They are as follows.
First, the utilization capacity for all schools in the county must not exceed 100%. However, waiver can still be granted to a county if a single school has exceeded the 100% utilization threshold but has not exceeded 105 % capacity. Secondly, the five-year projected capital outlay full-time equivalent (COFTE) student growth rate must be less than 10%.
According to the statute, both criteria must be analyzed in terms of these specific questions. First, are any schools approaching the 100% capacity threshold? Second, is the COFTE projection approaching the 10% threshold? Lastly, is there adequate data to support the waiver request?
Within subsection 163.3177(12)(b), criteria for municipality exemption looks to determine whether development actions taken by the municipality has been or will have a significant impact on school attendance. For a municipality’s population growth to be determined of negligible impact, first there can be no public schools, including charter schools, within the municipality boundary. Also, within the preceding five years, the municipality must prove it has issued development orders for fewer than fifty residential dwelling units or that fewer than twenty-five additional public school students were generated as a result of population growth. Lastly, during the preceding five years, the municipality may not have annexed new land for residential uses.
47 Waiver to School Concurrency
Findings for Qualification and Analysis The findings in Table 3.1 reveal that Gadsden County has satisfied all criteria listed within the statute concerning qualification for county waiver. The county has not exceeded the capacity threshold nor is it approaching exceedance for any school (see Table 2.10). Also, the county has not exceeded the 10% COFTE growth rate threshold (see Table 2.11). Given that Gadsden County could be relieved from the PSFE requirement for 2 years, Midway would also be relieved from the requirement.
Table 3.1 Waiver Qualification County Criteria Gadsden County Qualification No schools exceeding 100% Currently, no school exceeds the capacity threshold nor capacity threshold nor approaching Yes approaching exceedance exceedance Temporary exceedance in Currently, Gadsden County has no N/A capacity threshold capacity exceedances Projected average student Projected average student enrollment enrollment growth rate less Yes growth rate is less than 10% than 10% Adequate data and analysis The Waiver request is supported by Yes to support waiver request the FPDL's research and analysis
Nevertheless, should the waiver to school concurrency not be realized in Gadsden County, the City of Midway does not appear to be eligible for a municipal waiver from the requirement. The city has satisfied the criteria of not having a public or charter school within its boundary and also, not generating twenty-five new students. It has not satisfied the last criteria of annexation of new land for residential uses because Midway has annexed 67.84 acres intended for residential use (see Table 3.2).
Table 3.2 Exemption Qualification Municipality Criteria City of Midway Qualification No public school within Currently, Midway has no charter or boundaries (including charter public schools within their Yes schools) boundaries Issued development orders for Development orders issued for fewer than 50 residential dwelling more than 50 residential dwelling units during preceding 5 years units No OR BUT Generated fewer than 25 new Fewer than 25 new students were Yes students during preceding 5 years generated No annexation of new land during 67.84 acres of new land annexed preceding 5 years for residential No for residential use in last 5 years use
48 Waiver to School Concurrency
Consideration for Waiver Implementation Reviewing the data and analysis there are situations Midway must consider before electing persuade Gadsden County to apply for a waiver. Of these situations, there is the benefit that Midway will be able to engage in further communication with the County and the School Board in regards to attaining a school located within Midway’s boundaries. Midway is noted to be experiencing residential expansion and constructing a new public school is a goal of the city.
The county waiver, unlike the municipality exemption, would call for Midway’s support of the newly drafted interlocal agreement. Therefore, if eligible for a waiver, Midway would be allotted with the life of the waiver in which to make their case.
Conversely, if Midway is successful in convincing the county to apply for a waiver, they must also consider the risks. Though Midway would have ongoing communication with the county, there is no guarantee that Gadsden County will consider new school construction and siting a priority. Also, within the life of the waiver, there is the possibility that Gadsden County could choose to use their projected funds to construct a new facility elsewhere.
If Gadsden chooses not to apply for a waiver, Midway’s position would not change. However, Midway would be forced to negotiate their viewpoint without the help that the waiver could provide. Though, Midway still has the chance without the waiver to negotiate for a new public school to be co-located with another public facility.
Recommendations Based on the above finding that Gadsden County appears to satisfy the criteria for a waiver from the statutory PSFE obligation, it is recommended that the county apply for said waiver from the DCA immediately and no later than February 1, 2008. If Gadsden County has their waiver analysis in agreement with DCA’s interpretation of the Florida Statute, the waiver will apply to all its municipalities, including the City of Midway.
However, if DCA does not find that Gadsden County’s analysis convincingly deems them eligible for a waiver from the PSFE obligation, it does not appear that the City of Midway, because of its recent annexations and number of development orders issued for residential dwelling units, is eligible for a municipal waiver. In that case, Midway should engage Gadsden County and the Gadsden County School Board in discussions leading to the adoption of a PSFE using the following data, analysis and draft Goals, Objectives, and Policies as per statutory obligation.
49 Goals, Objectives & Policies
4 THE ACTION PLAN: GOALS, OBJECTIVES & POLICIES Introduction The Action Plan for the City of Midway prescribes the course of action for addressing school concurrency in cooperation with Gadsden County and the Gadsden County School Board. Though the City of Midway does not currently have any schools located within its municipal boundaries, its growth rate continues to exceed that of the county’s and its residential permit data suggests a continued trend towards new development which would generate new students requiring school services. Since the City of Midway does not have a school within its city limits, data and analysis generated through this report relied heavily on Gadsden County’s existing school framework.
Current analysis highlighted in this report suggests that Gadsden County is eligible for a waiver which would waive all its municipalities from the obligation to prepare a Public School Facilities Element (PSFE). If the county is not waived, the City of Midway does not qualify for an exemption primarily because of its residential annexations. The city annexed 67 acres in the last five years.
This Action Plan highlights two courses of action for the City of Midway. Firstly, in the event that the county is waived from the PSFE requirement, the City of Midway will amend its Future Land Use Element (FLUE) to provide policies for school siting within its city limits. Simultaneously, the City of Midway will update both the CIE and the ICE of its comprehensive plan to reflect the city’s strong desire for a public school to be located within the city and to ensure continued discussion and coordination through the interlocal agreement regarding the new FLUE policies for school siting.
Secondly, in the event Gadsden County fails to assert its qualification for a waiver or if that assertion is found to be out of compliance with Florida law, the city will adopt the PSFE. The Goals, Objectives and Policies (GOPs) that follow define the long term actions, intermediate steps, and specific measures that must be taken to address school planning issues within the City of Midway. As required by Florida Statutes, updates to the ICE and CIE are also provided to ensure successful implementation of school concurrency between the City of Midway and its partners.
The GOPs for the PSFE were developed using the Department of Community Affairs PSFE checklist and the PSFE’s compiled by the six pilot communities that participated in the school concurrency project. The stated GOPs are meant to ensure compliance with statutory requirements while focusing on the City of Midway’s desire for relocating an existing school facility within its municipal boundaries.
50 Goals, Objectives & Policies
Planning issues This section identifies the planning issues that are of particular relevance to the City of Midway and uses existing county conditions to contextualize the situation. The planning issues provide the framework for developing and refining the GOPs so that they reflect the needs and desires of the City of Midway.
Gadsden County has been described as a rural, agriculturally based county with a population of under 50,000. The City of Midway with a population of 1,446 is growing two times faster than the county but continues to lack school infrastructure for its growing population. Gadsden County School Board has recognized that district schools are under capacity and district facilities are in disrepair. To remedy the situation the GADSDEN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD has implemented an aggressive program to consolidate and close school facilities that are under- utilized or in disrepair.
The current interlocal agreement requires that all municipalities must coordinate with the county, and the Gadsden County School Board to identify the need, and location of any new school facilities. In the event that the PSFE is waived, Gadsden County and the Gadsden County School Board are not necessarily obligated to include the City of Midway in decision making processes that affect school district needs; instead they would only be limited to the procedural requirements as listed in the interlocal agreement. The PSFE requirement ensures that the city is included in district school discussions relating to location, capacity and need.
The planning issues identified here were developed outside the natural process of visioning, and citizen comment but nonetheless best represent the primary issues that will face the City of Midway as it attempts to implement school concurrency.
How can the City of Midway encourage Gadsden County and the Gadsden County School Board to construct and operate a school facility within its boundaries to meet its growing population needs? How will further consolidations by the Gadsden County School District impact existing and new students in the City of Midway? How can the City of Midway ensure that taxes paid by its citizens will be maximized for public school infrastructure? How can the City of Midway continue to promote the concept of neighborhood schools to the Gadsden County School District given its current disposition to consolidate schools and create larger, ex-urban facilities? How can the City of Midway ensure that school sites will enhance neighborhoods and communities while providing dual-purpose uses for its residents? How can the City of Midway ensure that effective intergovernmental cooperation exists to meet its community needs? How can the City of Midway in cooperation with all affected parties (Gadsden County, Gadsden County School Board and all municipalities) coordinate services and capital improvements for the benefit of all residents?
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GOPs for School Siting As noted previously, the current conditions in Gadsden County are such that the City of Midway may wish to encourage the county and school board to apply for a waiver to school concurrency. Should the city exercise this option, it would be in the city’s best interest to ensure that its comprehensive plan reflects policies addressing the planning issues noted above. The current comprehensive plan for the City of Midway identifies several objectives and policies relative to school siting, infrastructure for schools, intergovernmental coordination, and shared-use facilities (when appropriate). In fact, nearly all the required elements contain some objectives and/or policies relating to schools (Table 4.1).
Table 4.1 City of Midway School Related Inventory Objective/Policy Summary Future Land Use Element Objective 1.1.1 States that the City of Midway shall protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens by regulating future land uses based on criteria, such as topography, soil conditions, water quality, and the availability of facilities and services. Objective 1.1.11 States that the City of Midway shall coordinate school sites within appropriate land uses. Policy 1.1.11.1 States that the location of all public schools shall be based on upon the need for new facilities as identified by the Gadsden County School Board, and that all schools shall be located consistent with all elements of this comprehensive plan. Policy 1.1.11.2 States that the location of new school sites, or expansion of existing sites, shall be encouraged to occur proximate to urban residential areas, to the extent possible. Policy 1.1.11.3 States that the city shall seek to collocate public facilities such as parks, libraries and community centers with schools, to the extent possible. Policy 1.1.11.4 States that educational facilities shall be located based on student demographics to support the site and consistency with the city's comprehensive plan which includes the consideration adequate infrastructure availability. Policy 1.1.11.5 States that all future schools shall be an allowable use in all land use categories, except Conservation, Industrial, and Mixed Use/Commercial. Policy 1.1.11.6 States that the assessment of critical transportation issues (such as roadway capacity, transit, and bikeways that affect the expeditious and safe transporting of students) shall be considered when addressing new school site selection. Transportation Element Policy 2.1.5.2 States that the adopted Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Bike/Ped Master Plan shall be revised to coordinate with the City of Midway Bikeway Plan to provide safe routes to existing or planned community facilities, including school bus stops.
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Recreation and Open Space Element Objective 6.1.2 States that the city shall continue to identify and combine public and private resources to meet the recreational demands of its residents. Policy 6.1.2.1 States that the city shall continue to coordinate with the county, the City of Quincy, the school board, local churches, and private organizations to identify existing and projected facilities and to increase the availability and accessibility of these facilities to Midway residents. Intergovernmental Coordination Element Objective 7.1.3 States that the city will work with the School Board in an attempt to have them establish a school in the Midway area. Policy 7.1.3.1 States that the city will supply data, resources and other materials to convince the School Board of the suitability of a school in Midway. Policy 7.1.3.2 States that the city will look into the possibility of the city providing the land for a school site in Midway. Policy 7.1.3.3 States that the city will provide expertise and guidance to those engaged in efforts to bring a school to the Midway area. Policy 7.1.3.4 States that considerations shall be made for the City of Midway and Gadsden County School Board to jointly purchase arid/or develop, maintain, or operate specific properties and/or facilities for recreation/stadiums, libraries, community centers, playgrounds, emergency shelters, and the like in those cases where it is beneficial to the community, or where taxpayer savings may occur. Policy 7.1.3.5 States that the Gadsden County School Board shall be notified of all development review requests and development proposals that may have a significant impact on school siting plans. Policy 7.1.3.6 States that a compliance/permitted use determination must be made for any proposed educational facility site at the time the site is added by the Gadsden County School Board to the preliminary selection list. Policy 7.1.3.7 States that the Gadsden County School Board and the City of Midway shall establish or renew cooperative agreements to facilitate the shared use of community facilities such as parks, playgrounds, libraries, and neighboring meeting centers. Policy 7.1.3.8 States that the Gadsden County School Board and the City of Midway shall coordinate their capital improvements programming to ensure that adequate infrastructure will be available to support new or expanded educational facilities. Policy 7.1.3.9 States that the determination of new school sites shall be part of a coordinated process with the Florida Department of Education, Gadsden County School Board, and the City of Midway. Policy 7.1.3.10 States that the final responsibility for determining new school site location resides with the Gadsden County School Board, and that they must adhere to all local land development regulations, including community involvement.
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The following presents the specific objectives and policies noted above in strikethrough/underline format. These suggested changes to various elements of the comprehensive plan reflect the desire to obtain a new school facility within the city boundaries. Many of the revisions have placed a time frame on the objectives and policies, particularly those that describe activities needed prior to the actual construction of a school in Midway. The order of the suggested revisions corresponds to the current comprehensive plan.
OBJECTIVE 1.1.1—No Change Suggested
OBJECTIVE 1.1.11—No Change Suggested
Policy 1.1.11.1: The location of all public schools shall be based on upon the need for new facilities as identified by the Gadsden County School Board, and all schools shall be located consistent with all elements of this comprehensive plan.
Policy 1.1.11.2.: In accordance with Subsection 163.3177(6)(a), Florida Statutes, the location of new school sites, or expansion of existing sites, shall be encouraged to occur proximate to urban residential areas, to the extent possible.
Policy 1.1.11.3: The City of Midway shall seek to collocate encourage the Gadsden County School Board to consider the co-location of public facilities such as parks, libraries and community centers with schools, to the extent possible.
Policy 1.1.11.4: The location of new Eeducational facilities in the City of Midway shall be located based upon the following criteria: a) Student demographics to support the site. b) Consistency with the adopted City of Midway Comprehensive Plan and other applicable Sstate and local laws and regulations. At a minimum: 1. Educational facilities must be an allowable use in the based upon the Future Land Use Map categories designation designating location of such facilities, which includes all land use categories except Conservation, Industrial and Mixed Use/Commercial. and this Comprehensive Plan’s descriptive narrative, goals, objectives and policies: 2. The proposed location for the educational facility must have adequate infrastructure available, or planned to be available to serve the educational facility in accordance with the Ccity’s established concurrency management standards and procedures; and.
Policy 1.1.11.5: Based upon the criteria contained in Policy 10, all future schools shall be an allowable use in all land use categories, except Conservation, Industrial, and Mixed Use/Commercial.
Policy 1.1.11.65: Assessment of critical transportation issues, such as roadway capacity, transit, and bikeways, that affect the expeditious and safe transporting of students, shall be considered when addressing new school site selection.
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Policy 1.1.11.6: The City of Midway will continue to collaborate with the GADSDEN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD to locate a school within its boundaries so as to reduce the transportation burdens on existing and new residents with school-age children who must travel outside city limits to attend district schools.
Policy 2.1.5.2: The City of Midway Bikeway Plan shall be coordinated with the adopted MPO Bike/Ped Master Plan. which will be revised to include the City of Midway. This coordinated plan shall include: a) Future School Location and/or future/New or existing school bus stop locations to provide safe routes to school; b) Location of existing or planned community facilities and the major routes to these sites; and c) Adopted regulations and/or implementation program to meet the goals established by the MPO Bike/Ped Master Plan.
OBJECTIVE 6.1.2—No Change Suggested
Policy 6.1.2.1—No Change Suggested
OBJECTIVE 7.1.3: Midway will work with the School Board in an attempt to have them establish a school in the Midway area. Midway will help establish, by 2014, a Citizen’s Committee of city and non-city residents to work toward this end.
Policy 7.1.3.1: Midway will help establish, by 2014, a Citizen’s Committee to work toward this end.
Policy 7.1.3.2: Midway will supply data, resources and other materials to convince the School Board of the suitability of a school in Midway.
Policy 7.1.3.3: Midway will look into the possibility of the city providing the land for such a site.
Policy 7.1.3.3: Midway will provide expertise and guidance to Citizen’s Committee that will work with residents of the city and surrounding areas in an effort to bring a school to the Midway area.
Policy 7.1.3.4: Consideration shall be made for the City of Midway and Gadsden County School Board to jointly purchase, arid/or develop, maintain, or operate specific properties and/or facilities for recreation/ball fields stadiums, libraries, community centers, playgrounds, and emergency shelters, and the like in those cases where it is beneficial to the community, or where taxpayer savings may occur.
Policy 7.1.3.5: The Gadsden County School Board shall be notified of all development review requests and development proposals that have a potential for significant impact on school siting plans. A notice of Development Review will be mailed to the Superintendent of Schools and School Board member to give them an opportunity to respond with written comments/and or appear before the City Commission;
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Policy 7.1.3.5: The City of Midway will follow the procedures of preliminary land use compliance/permitted use determination per Section 4.3 of the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning for the evaluation of new school sites within the city boundaries. The Gadsden County School board must apply for a land use compliance/permitted use determination to the City of Midway for a proposed educational facility site at the time the site is added to the preliminary selection list. The City of Mdiway must then provide the Gadsden County School Board with a written land use compliance/permitted use determination within 45 days after receiving an application for such a determination.
Policy 7.1.3.7: Recognizing that public schools are an essential component in building a sense of community, the Gadsden County School Board and the City of Midway shall establish or renew cooperative agreements as may be beneficial to the public at-large, to facilitate the shared use of community facilities such as parks, playgrounds, libraries, and neighboring meeting centers.
Policy 7.1.3.8: The Gadsden County School Board and the City of Midway shall coordinate their respective capital improvements planning programming for infrastructure consistent with Section 4.4. of the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning. to ensure that adequate infrastructure will be available to support new or expanded educational facilities. The source of funds for needed infrastructure improvements shall be mutually agreed upon by the Gadsden County School Board and the City of Midway prior to site selection for a public school facility.
Policy 7.1.3.9: The process of determining the location of new school sites shall include an orderly and timely review of, and compliance with, criteria and standards established by the Florida Department of Education., Gadsden County School Board policies and procedure, and City of Midway development plans, site plan review procedures, ordinances, land development regulations and the City’s Comprehensive plan.
Policy 7.1.3.10: The final responsibility for site acquisition for public schools lies with the Gadsden County School Board, in compliance with all applicable rules, standards, criteria, plans laws and ordinances, and following public input and the involvement of eaffected persons and governmental agencies.
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GOPs to Implement School Concurrency: The Public School Facilities Element (PSFE)
GOAL PSFE 1: IMPLEMENT AND MAINTAIN A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM. COLLABORATE AND COORDINATE WITH THE GADSDEN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD GADSDEN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD TO PROMOTE THE LOCATION OF HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES WHICH MEET THE NEEDS OF THE CITY OF MIDWAY’S EXISTING AND FUTURE POPULATION.
OBJECTIVE PSFE 1.1.: Coordination and Consistency The city will continue to implement and maintain mechanisms designed to closely coordinate with the Gadsden County School Board in order to provide consistency between the City of Midway’s comprehensive plan and planned public school facility programs such as:
a) Greater efficiency for the Gadsden County School Board and the City of Midway through the placement/location of schools that take advantage of existing and planned roads, water, sewer, parks and drainage systems. b) Improved student access and safety by coordinating the construction of new schools with road and sidewalk construction programs. c) The location and design of schools with parks, ball fields, libraries and other community facilities to take advantage of shared use opportunities
Policy PSFE 1.1.1: Manage the timing of new development to coordinate with adequate school capacity. Where capacity will not be available to serve students from the property seeking a future land use change, the City of Midway may use the lack of school capacity as a basis for denial of petitions for amendments to the future land use map, final subdivisions or site plans for residential development.
Policy PSFE 1.1.2: In cooperation with the Gadsden County School Board, Gadsden County and the other municipalities (Quincy, Chattahoochee, Gretna, Havana, and Greensboro), the City of Midway will implement the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning for the City of Midway, Florida between Gadsden County, the City of Midway, and all legislative bodies of the municipalities as required by Section 1013.33, Florida Statutes, which includes procedures for: a) Joint meetings; b) Student enrollment and population projections; c) Coordinating and sharing of information; d) School site analysis; e) Supporting infrastructure; f) Comprehensive plan amendments, re-zonings and development approvals; g) Education Plant Survey and Five Year District Facilities Work program; h) Co-location and shared use; i) Implementation of school concurrency, including levels of service standards, concurrency service areas, and proportionate-share mitigation; j) Oversight process; and, k) Resolution of disputes.
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Policy PSFE 1.1.3: The City of Midway shall include an appointed representative of the Gadsden County School Board as a nonvoting member of the Midway Planning and Zoning Board as required by Section 163.3174, Florida Statutes. This nonvoting Gadsden County School Board representative will attend those meetings at which the Planning and Zoning Board considers comprehensive plan amendments and rezonings that would, if approved, increase residential density on the property that is the subject of the application.
Policy PSFE 1.1.4: The City of Midway shall coordinate with the Gadsden County School Board and all applicable municipalities regarding annual review of school enrollment projections, and procedures for annual update and review of school board and local government plans consistent with policies under Objectives 7.1.1 and 7.1.2.
OBJECTIVE PSFE 1.2.: School Capacity Manage the timing of comprehensive plan amendments and other land use decisions to coordinate with providing and ensuring adequate school capacity.
Policy PSFE 1.2.1: The City of Midway shall coordinate anticipated students growth based on future land use map projections of housing units with the ’ Gadsden County School Board’s long range facilities needs over the five-year, ten-year and twenty-year periods.
Policy PSFE 1.2.2: When considering the decision to approve comprehensive plan amendments and other land use decisions as provided for in Section 163.3177 (6) (a), Florida Statutes, the City of Midway shall indicate to the Gadsden County School Board the impact of new residential developments on existing school facility capacity to ensure that either (1) capacity is available at current schools or (2) the need for a new school facility within city boundaries to accommodate surplus students.
Policy PSFE 1.2.3: The City of Midway shall give priority consideration to petitions for land uses, zoning, and final subdivision and site plans for residential development in areas where school sites have been donated to or set aside by the city or its partners that can provide adequate school capacity. The City of Midway will apply to the Gadsden County School Board to include these sites as potential locations for new schools within the district.
Policy PSFE 1.2.4: Where capacity will not be available to serve students from the property seeking a land use change, the City of Midway will coordinate with the Gadsden County School Board to ensure adequate capacity is planned and funded or encourage the location of a new school within its municipal boundaries to accommodate the new students generated by the land use change.
Policy PSFE 1.2.5: In reviewing petitions for future land use, rezoning or final subdivision and site plans for residential development, which may affect student enrollment or school facilities, the City of Midway will consider the following issues:
a) Providing new school sites and facilities within planned neighborhoods;
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b) Ensuring the compatibility of land uses adjacent to existing schools and reserved school sites; c) The co-location of parks, recreation and community facilities with school sites (consistent with Policy 1.1.11.3 ) d) The linkage of schools, parks, libraries, and other public facilities with bikeways, trails, and sidewalks; e) Ensuring the development of traffic circulations plans to serve schools and the surrounding neighborhood; f) Providing off-site signalization, signage, access improvements and sidewalks to serve all schools; g) The inclusion of school bus stops and turnarounds in new developments; h) Encouraging the private sector to identify, implement and create solutions to developing and ensuring adequate school facilities in residential developments; i) School Board staff comments and findings of available school capacity for comprehensive plan amendments and other land-use decisions; j) Available school capacity or planned improvements to increase school capacity; and, k) Whether the proposed location is consistent with school design and planning policies.
OBJECTIVE PSE 1.3.: School Siting Encourage the siting of school facilities so that they assist in retaining the neighborhood character of the City of Midway by serving as community focal points that are compatible with surrounding land uses.
Policy PSFE 1.3.1: The City of Midway will use the current Gadsden County School District Facilities Work Program which identifies the budget available for district school construction and/or renovation to assess the possibility of locating a school within the city by 2016.
Policy PSFE 1.3.2: The City of Midway will continue to coordinate with the Gadsden County School Board to assure that proposed public school facility sites are consistent with the land use categories and policies of the city’s comprehensive plan, and are consistent with the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning.
Policy PSFE 1.3.3: Consistent with Section 163.3177, Florida Statutes, the City of Midway will include sufficient allowable land use designations for schools proximate to residential development to meet the projected needs for schools.
Policy PSFE 1.3.4: Consistent with Policy 1.1.11.2 of the City of Midway Future Land Use Element, new schools facilities shall be best sited proximate to urban residential areas.
Policy PSFE 1.3.5: Consistent with the Policy 1.1.11.5 of the City of Midway Future Land Use Element all future schools shall be an allowable use in all land use categories except Conservation, Industrial, Mixed Use/Commercial.
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Policy PSFE 1.3.6: Consistent with the Policy A.1.11.3 of the City of Midway Future Land Use Element, public facilities such as parks, libraries and community centers shall be co-located to the extent possible with schools.
Policy PSFE 1.3.7: The City of Midway will continue to collaborate with the Gadsden County School Board to locate a school within its boundaries so as to reduce the transportation burdens on existing and new residents with school-age children who must travel outside city limits to attend district schools.
Policy PSFE 1.3.8: New public schools shall provide bicycle and pedestrian access consistent with Florida Statutes. Pedestrian and bicycle access to public schools should be incorporated in the citywide bicycle plan consistent with Policy B.1.5.2.
Policy PSFE 1.3.9: In order to promote a safe, neighborhood school-friendly environment for its residents, the policy of the City of Midway shall be to reduce hazardous walking conditions consistent with Florida’s Safe Ways to School program.
Policy PSFE 1.3.10: The City of Midway will prioritize the placement of infrastructure (including water, sewer, roads, drainage, sidewalks and bike paths) to areas where future school sites within the city may be located. If necessary, the City of Midway will enter into a written agreement with the party or parties responsible for assisting in ensuring that these site requirements exist.
OBJECTIVE PSFE 1.4.: Sustainable School Design Encourage the development of new school facilities within the City of Midway to be constructed using sustainable school design and development standards.
Policy PSFE 1.4.1: Encourage the Gadsden County School Board to use sustainable design and performance standards when constructing new schools within Midway’s city limits including energy efficient and recycled materials, which will reduce lifetime operating costs.
Policy PSFE 1.4.2: Encourage the Gadsden County School Board to design any new schools within Midway’s city limits consistent with Section 1013.372, Florida Statutes, such that as appropriate, new educational facilities will serve as public shelters for emergency management purposes.
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(Note: The following objective and policies should be included in the Gadsden County Public School Facilities Element. The City of Midway would only have to adopt these policies by reference to ensure consistency with the county comprehensive plan. However, due to the fact that Gadsden County has not yet developed its public school facilities element, the following are examples of the types of policies that would be needed to coordinate and implement school concurrency. This section is largely a reiteration of the 2006 draft of the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning.)
OBJECTIVE PSFE 1.5.: Implement School Concurrency Manage the timing of residential subdivision approvals, site plans or their functional equivalent to ensure adequate school capacity is available consistent with adopted level of service standards for public school concurrency.
Policy PSFE 1.5.1: Consistent with the interlocal agreement, the City of Midway and the Gadsden County School Board agree to the following standards for school concurrency in the City of Midway:
a) Level of Service Standard: Consistent with the interlocal agreement, the uniform, district-wide level-of service standards are initially set as follows, and are hereby adopted in the City of Midway’s Public School Facilities Element (PSFE) and Capital Improvements Element (CIE):
TYPE OF SCHOOL LEVEL OF SERVICE Elementary 100% of permanent DOE* capacity Middle 100% of permanent DOE capacity K-8 100% of permanent DOE capacity High 100% of permanent DOE capacity Special Purpose 100% of permanent DOE capacity * DOE is the Florida Department of Education.
Potential amendments to the level of service standards shall be considered at least annually at the staff working group meeting to take place no later than April 15th of each year. If an amendment is proposed by the Gadsden County School Board, it shall be accomplished by the execution of an amendment to the interlocal agreement by all parties and the adoption of amendments to the comprehensive plans. The amended level of service shall not be effective until all plan amendments are effective and the amended interlocal agreement is fully executed.
b) Concurrency Service Areas: The concurrency service areas may be as shown in Maps 2.12 through 2.14 of the Public School Facilities Element. Potential amendments to the concurrency service areas shall be considered annually at the staff working group meeting to take place each year no later than April 15th. If an amendment is proposed by the School Board, it shall be accomplished by the execution of an amendment to the interlocal agreement by all parties and the adoption of amendments to the comprehensive plan. The amended concurrency service area
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shall not be effective until all plan amendments and the amended interlocal agreement are fully executed. No concurrency service area shall be amended without a showing that the amended concurrency service area boundaries are financially feasible.
c) Maximizing Concurrency Service Areas: Concurrency service areas shall maximize capacity utilization taking into account transportation costs, limiting maximum student travel times, the effect of court approved desegregation plans, achieving social, economic, racial and cultural diversity objectives, and other relevant factors as determined by the Gadsden County School Board’s and the City of Midway’s policy on maximization of capacity.
d) Student Generation Rates: Consistent with the interlocal agreement, the School Board staff, working with the City of Midway staff as well as staff from the municipalities of Quincy, Havana, Chattahoochee, Greensboro and Gretna, will develop and apply student generation multipliers for residential units and projected price for schools of each type, considering past trends in student enrollment in order to project school enrollment. The student generation rates will be determined by the Gadsden County School Board in accordance with professionally accepted methodologies, and shall be updated at least every two years and adopted into the City of Midway’s comprehensive plan. e) School Capacity and Enrollment: The Department of Education permanent Florida Inventory of School Houses (FISH) capacity is adopted as uniform methodology to determine the capacity of each school. Relocatables are not considered permanent capacity. School enrollment shall be based on the annual enrollment of each school based on actual counts reported to the Department of Education in October of each year. Excluding relocatable student stations from the capacity calculations will ensure that the Gadsden County School Board assesses capacity on an individual school basis which may result in the evaluation and potential siting of a new school in the City of Midway. f) Cost per Student Station: Estimates for elementary, middle and high schools shall include all cost of providing instruction and core capacity including land, design, buildings, equipment and furniture, as well as site improvements. The cost of ancillary facilities that generally support the school district and the capital costs associated with the transportation of students shall not be included in the Cost per Student Station estimate used for proportionate fair share mitigation. If the City of Midway uses impact fees to mitigate for impacts, the city will retain a portion of the proceeds to ensure that when appropriate, these funds can be used to offset the costs of new schools within its boundaries.; g) Concurrency Availability Standard: The City of Midway shall include procedures to review current concurrency management systems in its land development regulations to require that all new residential units be reviewed for school concurrency at the time of final subdivision or site plan. The City of Midway shall not deny a final
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subdivision or site plan for residential development due to a failure to achieve and maintain the adopted level of service for public school capacity
h) Subdivision and Site Plan Standards: In the event that the Gadsden County School Board comments that there is not sufficient capacity in the affected concurrency service area to address the impacts of a proposed development, the following standards shall apply. Either (i) the site plan or final subdivision must provide capacity enhancement sufficient to meet its impacts through proportionate share mitigation; or (ii) the site plan or final subdivision must be delayed to a date when capacity enhancement and level of service can be assured; or (iii) a condition of approval of the site plan or final subdivision shall be delayed to a date when capacity enhancement and level of service can be assured. The amount of mitigation required shall be determined by the Department of Education’s most current cost per student stations applicable to the City of Midway.
Policy PSFE 1.5.2: Options for providing proportionate share mitigation for any approval of additional residential dwelling units that triggers a failure of level of service for public school capacity shall include the following: a. Contribution of, or payment for, acquisition of new; b. Construction of permanent school facilities; c. The creation of mitigation banking within designated areas based on the construction of a public school facility in exchange for the right to sell capacity credits. Mitigation shall be directed to projects on the School Board’s Five-Year Capital Facilities Plan that the Gadsden County School Board agrees will satisfy the demand created by that development approval, and shall be assured by a legally binding development agreement between the Gadsden County School Board, the City of Midway, and the applicant executed prior to the issuance of the final subdivision, site plan or functional equivalent.
Policy PSFE 1.5.3: The amount of mitigation required shall be determined by calculating the number of student stations for each school type for which there is not sufficient capacity using the student generation rates applicable to a particular type of development and multiplying by the local costs per student stations for each school type (elementary, middle and high) applicable to City of Midway, as determined by the Gadsden County School Board. The cost per student station may include land costs for new school sites, costs to build evacuation shelters and costs for off-site improvements, if applicable.
OBJECTIVE PSFE 1.6.: Funding Investigate the possible use of school impact fees as a way to realize the cost of new development and its impact on land use in regards to the local school system service provision.
Policy PSFE 1.6.1: Make a decision regarding the use and amount (if applicable) of school impact fees.
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Policy PSFE 1.6.2.: If impact fees are approved, the City of Midway will enter into an agreement with the Gadsden County School Board that will stipulate the portion of the impact fees provided to the school district and the portion to be retained by the city. Retained impact fees will be dedicated towards the construction of a school facility within city boundaries.
OBJECTIVE PSFE 1.7.: Monitoring and Evaluation Monitor and evaluate the Public School Facilities Element in order to assure the best practices of the joint planning processes and procedures for coordination of planning and decision-making between the City of Midway and Gadsden County School Board.
Policy PSFE 1.7.1: The City of Midway and the Gadsden County School Board will coordinate during updates or amendments to the City of Midway’s Comprehensive Plan and updates or amendments for long-range plans for Gadsden County School Board facilities.
Policy PSFE 1.7.2: The City of Midway will examine the implementation of school concurrency within the district so as to ensure that the city is afforded a fair chance for siting new schools over the long term planning period.
Future Conditions Consistent with Section 163.3177 (12)(g), Florida Statutes, the Public School Facilities Element shall include future conditions maps showing existing and anticipated schools over the five-year and long-term planning periods. The maps of necessity may be general over the long-term planning period and do not prescribe a land use on a particular parcel of land.
Based on the current Gadsden County School Board 2007-2008 Work Program, there are no closures, relocations, consolidations or construction of school facilities planned for the five-year planning period. However, there is a current school relocation underway, although the renovations of the facility were paid for in previous fiscal year budgets and are not included in the current five year work program (Personal Correspondence with, Gadsden County School Board 2007). The future conditions shown in Map 4.1 below are nearly identical to the conditions currently on the ground, as shown in Map 2.4.
However, any number of changes could alter future conditions. For example, while Gadsden County’s schools are expected to remain under capacity during the five-year planning period, consolidations, closures, or other policy changes could substantially reduce available capacity, which could lead to construction of new school facilities. In addition, changes could occur which alter development patterns, such as a surge in immigrant populations or a restructuring of the terms for sub-prime loan financing that lead to a build-out of currently undeveloped land shown in the Gadsden County Future Land Use Map. This, in turn, could increase Gadsden County’s student population and create the need for new school facilities and/or changes to existing school facilities to increase school capacity. Thus, if any of these changes were to take place, future conditions could look substantially different from what is anticipated based on the current Gadsden County School Board 2007-2008 Work Program.
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Map 4.1 Gadsden County Schools Future Conditions
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Intergovernmental Coordination Element These goals, objectives and policies are subject to change based on Gadsden County’s adoption of its public school facilities element in order to ensure vertical consistency between the county’s plan and the city’s plan. Typically, the municipalities will adopt changes by reference to the intergovernmental coordination element using the county’s established framework for these goals, objectives and policies.
GOAL 7.2: COLLABORATE AND COORDINATE WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD OF GADSDEN COUNTY TO ENSURE HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES WHICH MEET THE NEEDS OF THE CITY OF MIDWAY’S EXISTING AND FUTURE POPULATION.
OBJECTIVE 7.2.1: School Interlocal Agreement Implement the interlocal agreement with the Gadsden County School Board, Gadsden County, and municipalities within the county, to provide for close coordination in the evaluation of development proposals.
Policy 7.2.1.1: The types of coordination activities that are necessary to implement the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning and the evaluation of proposed developments which would impact their jurisdictions include:
a) Transmission of a semi-annual memo from the City of Midway Planning Department to the Gadsden County School Board and Gadsden County describing proposed developments and planning activities.
b) Provision for a feedback process/information exchange so above entities can inform the Midway Planning Department of any potential adverse impact (s) from proposed developments in other municipalities within the county.
c) Procedures for discussing potential adverse impact(s) from proposed developments/planning activities will include: public meetings and notices published in the weekly paper.
OBJECTIVE 7.2.2: Intergovernmental Coordination for School Concurrency Maintain and enhance joint planning processes and procedures for coordination of public education facilities for planning and decision-making in the City of Midway.
Policy 7.2.2.1: On an ongoing basis, the City of Midway will continue to review existing coordination mechanisms with affected parties through an annual county-wide forum, joint meetings or other types of forums with other agencies. Assistance for this effort shall be requested from regional and state agencies, as needed.
Policy 7.2.2.2: On an annual basis, the City of Midway shall ask the School Board to provide information from their five-year Capital Facilities Plan to determine the need for additional
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school facilities. The School Board shall provide to the City of Midway, each year, a general education facilities report. The educational facilities report shall contain information detailing existing facilities and their locations and projected need. The report shall also contain the School Board’s capital improvement plan, including planned facilities with funding representing the district’s unmet needs.
Policy 7.2.2.3: In order to coordinate the effective and efficient provision and siting of public educational facilities with associated infrastructure and services within the City of Midway, the City of Midway will employ the coordination procedures outlined in Sections 3 and 4 of the Interlocal Agreement for Public Schools Facility Planning.
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Capital Improvement Element These goals, objectives and policies are subject to change based on Gadsden County’s adoption of its public school facilities element in order to ensure vertical consistency between the county’s plan and the city’s plan. Typically, the municipalities will adopt changes by reference to the capital improvement element using the county’s established framework for these goals, objectives and policies.
GOAL 8.4: THE CITY OF MIDWAY SHALL ENSURE THAT FUTURE NEEDS ARE ADDRESSED CONSISTENT WITH THE ADOPTED LEVEL OF SERVICE STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
OBJECTIVE 8.4.1.: Implement School Concurrency Manage the timing of residential subdivision approvals, site plans or their functional equivalent to ensure adequate school capacity is available consistent with adopted level of service standards for public school concurrency.
Policy 8.1.1.1: Consistent with the interlocal agreement, the School Board and the City of Midway agree to the following standards for school concurrency in the City of Midway:
TYPE OF SCHOOL LEVEL OF SERVICE Elementary 100% of permanent DOE* capacity Middle 100% of permanent DOE capacity K-8 100% of permanent DOE capacity High 100% of permanent DOE capacity Special Purpose 100% of permanent DOE capacity * DOE is the Florida Department of Education.
Policy 8.4.1.2: The City of Midway shall ensure that future development pays a proportionate share of the costs of capital facility capacity needed to accommodate new development and to assist in maintaining adopted level of service standards, via impact fees and other legally available and appropriate methods in development conditions.
Policy 8.4.1.3: The City of Midway hereby incorporates by reference the School Board’s School Facilities Work Program dated October 2007 that includes school capacity sufficient to meet anticipated student demands projected by the City of Midway and municipalities, in consultation with the School Board’s projections of student enrollment, based on the adopted level of service standards for public schools.
Policy 8.1.1.4: The City of Midway will update its Capital Improvements schedule on an annual basis by December 1, to incorporate the upcoming five years of the School Board’s District Facilities Work Program.
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Policy 8.4.1.5: The City of Midway shall ensure the capital improvements program is financially feasible and that level of service standards will be maintained during the initial 5-year implementation period, and continue to be achieved and maintained within each year of the subsequent five-year schedule of capital improvements.
Policy 8.4.1.6: The City of Midway’s strategy to ensure a financially feasible capital improvements plan and correct existing deficiencies and future needs will include: a) Identification of adequate sites for funded and planned schools; and b) The establishment of an impact fee ordinance in order to generate additional revenue to help fund school improvements.
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5 THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT
Introduction The Gadsden County School Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning establishes the procedures for public school facility planning among: the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners (county); the City Councils of Quincy, Midway, Gretna, Chattahoochee; the Town Councils of Greensboro and Havana; and the Gadsden County School Board. The interlocal agreement is divided into 13 sections addressing a range of items pertaining to public school facility planning and implementation within the Gadsden County School District. Of primary importance in the interlocal agreement is the school siting procedure, the process for assessing and implementing school concurrency within the district and the collaborative nature of implementing the agreement amongst all affected parties.
Suggested Revisions with the County Waiver Option Pursuant to statutory mandate in FS 163.31777, an updated interlocal agreement must be filed in conjunction with the updated school concurrency element. The interlocal agreement is intended to ensure that communication occur regarding school facility planning between the Gadsden County Commission, the Gadsden County School Board, the Cities of Chattahoochee, Gretna, Midway and Quincy and the Towns of Greensboro and Havana.
The document below is the existing interlocal agreement, circa 2006. In it is the established language for local governments communicating changes to existing school facilities. Adoption of the amendments to the interlocal agreement must be agreed upon by all parties.
The county waivers are granted for a maximum of two years; subject to the agreement with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) which has the discretion to waive PSFE for a lesser period. Therefore, it is recommended that if Gadsden County is granted waiver that it make effort to track its continuing qualification. Below are suggested amendments to the interlocal agreement, in strikethrough/underline format, pending waiver concurrence with state statutes.
GADSDEN COUNTY INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITY PLANNING
This agreement is entered into between the Gadsden County Commission (hereinafter referred to as "County"), the School Board of Gadsden County (hereinafter referred to as "School Board"), the City of Chattahoochee, the Town of Greensboro, the City of Gretna, the Town of Havana, the City of Midway, and the City of Quincy (hereinafter referred to as "Cities").
WHEREAS, the County, the School Board, and the Cities recognize their mutual obligation and responsibility for the education, nurture, and general well-being of the children within their community; and
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WHEREAS, the County, the School Board, and the Cities recognize the benefits that will flow to the citizens and students of their communities by more closely coordinating their comprehensive land use and school facilities planning programs: namely (1) better coordination of new schools in time and place with land development, (2) greater efficiency for the school board and local governments by placing schools to take advantage of existing and planned roads, water, sewer, and parks, (3) improved student access and safety by coordinating the construction of new and expanded schools with the road and sidewalk construction programs of the local governments, (4) better defined urban form by locating and designing schools to serve as community focal points, (5) greater efficiency and convenience by co-locating schools with parks, ball fields, libraries, and other community facilities to take advantage of joint use opportunities, and (6) reduction of pressures contributing to urban sprawl and support of existing neighborhoods by appropriately locating new schools and expanding and renovating existing schools, and (7) exploring all options for relief or assistance in attaining these benefits; and
WHEREAS, the County, the School Board, and the Cities recognize the implementation of the County Waiver thereby postponing their requirement to adopt a public schools facilities element; and
WHEREAS, the County, the School Board, and the Cities enter into this agreement in fulfillment of that statutory requirement and in recognition of the benefits accruing to their citizens and students described above;
NOW THEREFORE, be it mutually agreed between the Gadsden County Board of Commissioners, the Gadsden County School Board, the Chattahoochee City Council, the Greensboro Town Council, the Gretna City Commission, the Havana Town Council, the Midway City Council, and the Quincy City Commission that the following procedures will be followed in coordinating land use and public school facilities planning:
Section 1. School Siting Interlocal Agreement Committee Meeting
1.1 One or more representatives of the County Commission, the School Board, and the governing bodies of each of the Cities will hold a publicly advertised annual meeting; with additional meetings to be scheduled as necessary in joint workshop sessions. A representative of the Regional Planning Council will also be invited to attend. The joint workshop session will be an opportunity for the County Commission, the School Board, and the City Councils to hear reports, discuss policy, discuss waiver renewal, set direction, and reach understandings concerning issues of mutual concern regarding coordination of land use and school facilities planning, including population and student growth, development trends, school needs, off-site improvements, and joint use opportunities. Meetings concerning waiver renewal should be held annually to review the County’s continuing eligibility. The Gadsden County Manager's office will be responsible for making the arrangements for this meeting and providing proper notification for all those concerned.
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Section 2. Student Enrollment and Population Projections
2.1 In fulfillment of their respective planning duties, the County, the School Board, and the Cities agree to coordinate and base their plans upon consistent projections of the amount, type, and distribution of population growth and student enrollment.
2.2 The School Board shall utilize student population projections based on information produced by the demographic, revenue, and education estimating conferences pursuant to Section 216.136, Florida Statutes. The School Board may request adjustment to the estimating conferences' projections to reflect actual enrollment and development trends. In formulating such a request the School Board will coordinate with the County, and the Cities regarding development trends and future population projections.
2.3 The School Board, working with the County and the Cities, will allocate projected student enrollment throughout the district to reflect development trends.
Section 3. Coordinating and Sharing of Information
3.1 Tentative District Educational Facilities Plan: On July 1st of each year, the School Board shall submit to the County and each of the Cities, the tentative district educational facilities plan prior to adoption by the Board. The County and the Cities shall review the plan and comment to the School Board within 45 days on the consistency of the plan with the local comprehensive plan, whether a comprehensive plan amendment will be necessary for any proposed educational facility, and whether the local government supports a necessary comprehensive plan amendment.
3.2 Educational Plant Survey: The School Board shall submit a draft of the Educational Plant Survey to the County and each of the Cities prior to- adoption by the School Board within 45 days regarding the consistency of planned school facilities, including school renovations and closures, with the local government comprehensive plan.
3.3 Growth and Development Trends: On November 1st of each year, local governments will provide the School Board with a report on growth and development trends within their jurisdiction. This report will include information on issues that may have an impact on school facilities and student enrollment such as future land use map amendments and re-zonings which increase residential densities, and residential building permits issued during the preceding year and their location. Also, in this report will be data and analysis on the county’s eligibility for a waiver from their Public School Facilities requirement.
Section 4. School Site Selection, Significant Renovations, and Potential School Closures
4.1 When the need for a new school is identified in the district educational facilities plan, the School Board will establish a Public Schools Advisory Committee for the purpose of reviewing potential sites for new schools and proposals for significant renovation and potential closure of existing schools. In addition to appropriate members designated by the School Board, the
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Committee will include at least one staff member of the County and a representative from each of the affected Cities.
4.2 The Public Schools Advisory Committee will develop a list of potential sites in the area of need. The list of potential sites for new schools and the list of schools identified in the district educational facilities plan for significant renovation (25% or greater increase in work station/desk space) and potential closure will be submitted to the local government with jurisdiction for an informal assessment regarding consistency with the local government comprehensive plan. Based on information gathered during the review, the Committee will submit recommendations to the Superintendent or designee.
4.3 At least 60 days prior to acquiring or leasing property that may be used for a new public educational facility, the School Board shall provide written notice to the local government with jurisdiction over the use of the land. The local government, upon receipt of this notice, shall notify the School Board within 45 days if the proposed new school site is consistent with the land use categories and policies of the local government's comprehensive plan This preliminary notice does not constitute the local government's determination of consistency pursuant to section 235.193(12), Florida Statutes:
4.4 In conjunction with the preliminary consistency determination described in subsection 4.3 of this agreement, the School Board and affected local governments will jointly determine the need for and timing of on-site and off-site improvements necessary to support each new school or the proposed significant renovation of an existing school, and will enter into a written agreement as to the timing, location, and the party or parties responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining the required improvements.
4.5 When a preliminary agreement is reached for either the construction of a new facility or the closure of an existing facility, the Public Schools Advisory Committee must also consider the impact of the new facility changes as it relates to the County’s continuing eligibility for waiver. The effects on projected utilization and on projected school enrollment must be considered before continuing with any usage changes.
Section 5. Local Planning Agency, Comprehensive Plan Amendments, Re-zonings, and Development Approvals
5.1 The County and the Cities will include a nonvoting representative appointed by the School Board on the local planning agencies, or equivalent agencies, to attend or provide comments at those meetings at which the agencies consider comprehensive plan amendments and re-zonings that 'would if approved, increase residential density on the property that is the subject of the application. The County and the Cities may at their discretion grant voting status to the School Board appointee.
5.2 The County and the Cities agree to give the School Board notification of comprehensive plan amendments, re-zonings, and development proposals pending before them that may affect student enrollment. Within 45 days after notification by the local government, the School Board will advise the local government of the school enrollment impacts anticipated to result from the
73 Interlocal Agreement proposed land use application or development proposal, and whether sufficient capacity exists or is planned to accommodate the impacts. School capacity will be reported consistent with State Requirements for Educational Facilities.
5.3 If sufficient capacity is not available or planned to serve the development at the time of impact, the School Board will specify how it proposes to meet the anticipated student enrollment demand; alternatively, the School Board, local government, and developer will collaborate to find means to ensure sufficient capacity will exist to accommodate the development, such as, developer contributions, project phasing, or developer provided facility improvements.
5.4 All changes in utilization should be reported to the School Board and the County Land Planning Agency in order to a monitor the County’s compliance with maintaining waiver eligibility. Routine reviews should be done given that the State Planning Agency can assign a maximum of two years or less based on their discretion.
Section 6. Co-location and Shared Use
6.1 Co-location and shared use of facilities are important to both the School Board and local governments. The School Board will look for opportunities to co-locate and share use of school facilities and civic facilities when preparing the District Educational Facilities Plan. Likewise, co-location and shared use opportunities will be considered by the local governments when preparing the annual update to the comprehensive plan's schedule of capital improvements and when planning and designing new, or renovating existing, community facilities. For example, opportunities for co-location and shared use with public schools will be considered for libraries, parks, recreation facilities, community centers, auditoriums, learning centers, museums, performing arts centers, and stadiums. In addition, co-location and shared use of school and governmental facilities for health care and social services will be considered.
6.2 A separate agreement may be necessary for instances of co-location and shared use, which addresses legal liability, operating, and maintenance costs, scheduling of use, and facility supervision or any other issues that may arise from co-location and shared use.
Section 7. Resolution of Disputes
7.1 If the parties to this agreement are unable to resolve any issue in which they may be in disagreement covered in this agreement, such dispute will be resolved in accordance with governmental conflict resolution procedures specified in Chapter 164 or 186, Florida Statutes.
Section 8. Oversight Process
8.1 At the publicly advertised annual meeting described in subsection 1.1, representatives of the School Siting Interlocal Agreement Committee will also serve as the Oversight Committee. The Committee meeting will include as an agenda item the review and monitoring of the implementation of the Interlocal Agreement The Committee shall report to the participating local governments, the School Board, and the general public on the effectiveness with which the interlocal agreement is being implemented.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Interlocal Agreement has been executed by and on behalf of Gadsden County, the Gadsden County School Board, the City of Chattahoochee, the Town of Greensboro, the City of Gretna, the Town of Havana, the City of Midway, and the City of Quincy on this ___day of ______, 200_.
[Insert signature of respective parties here]
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Suggested Revisions with the Adoption of a Public Schools Facilities Element The document that follows is the first addendum to the interlocal agreement. The addendum contains methods on calculating the student generation multiplier. This is a seminal figure in calculating proportionate share mitigation. The interlocal agreement specifies that the multiplier be based on students per housing unit type, expressly, single family dwelling unit, multi-family dwelling unit and mobile homes. While data are available regarding the number of each type of dwelling units, there are not data available tying the number of school age children to a specific dwelling unit type. The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect this data for counties with a population of less than 65,000. As of 2006 Census estimates, Gadsden County’s population is 46,658.
Therefore, it is recommended that the interlocal agreement be amended to reflect the data available. Recommended changes to the interlocal agreement are in strikethrough/underline format. There are scrivener’s errors that are also noted in the interlocal agreement but do not reflect substantive changes.
Gadsden County School Interlocal Agreement
This agreement is entered into between the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners (hereinafter referred to as “County”), and the City Councils of the Cities of Quincy, Midway, Gretna, and Chattahoochee (hereinafter referred to as “Cities”) and the Towns of Greensboro and Havana (hereinafter referred to as “Towns”), and the School Board of Gadsden County (hereinafter referred to as “School Board”). WHEREAS, the County, Cities and Towns and the School Board recognize their mutual obligation and responsibility for the education , nurture and general well-being of the children within their community; and WHEREAS, the County, Cities, Towns and School Board recognize the benefits that will flow to the citizens and students of their communities by more closely coordinating their comprehensive land use and school facilities planning programs: namely (1) better coordination of new schools in time and place with land development; (2) greater efficiency for the school board and local governments by placing schools to take advantage of existing and planned roads, water, sewer, and parks; (3) improved student access and safety by coordinating the construction of new and expanded schools with the road and sidewalk construction programs of local governments; (4) better defined urban form by locating and designing schools to serve as community focal points; (5) greater efficiency and convenience by co-locating schools with parks, ball fields, libraries, and other community facilities to take advantage of joint use
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opportunities; and (6) reduction of pressures contributing to urban sprawl and support of existing neighborhoods by appropriately locating new schools and expanding and renovating existing schools and; WHEREAS, Section 163.31777 and 1013.33, Florida Statutes, require each county and the non-exempt municipalities within that county to enter into an inter-local agreement with the district school board to establish jointly the specific ways in which the plans and processes of the district school board and the local governments are to be coordinated; and through provisions in the inter-local agreement, at the time of the Evaluation and Appraisal Report, the County, Cities and Towns shall schedule at least one (1) staff working group meeting with the School Board to address needed updates to the school-related plan provisions.
Section 9. Implementation of School Concurrency 9.1 This section establishes the mechanisms for coordinating the development, adoption and amendment of Gadsden County School Board’s capital facilities plan, as well as the Public Schools Facilities Element, and the Intergovernmental Coordination and Capital Improvements Element of the County, Cities’ and Towns’ comprehensive plans, in order to implement a school concurrency system that is uniform countywide as required by law. Certain terms used in Section 9 of this inter-local agreement are defined as follows: “Maximization of capacity” shall mean any operational or physical adjustment that increases the available capacity of a school. These adjustments may include, but are not limited to, expansions, renovations, staggered schedules, floating teachers, reassignment of students. The types of adjustments to school operation that will be used in Gadsden County will be determined by the School Board’s policy on maximization of capacity, as set forth in the Public School Facilities Element. “Previously approved development” shall mean development approved as follows: (a) Single family lots of record having been legally created, two-for-one subdivisions, minor subdivisions or major subdivisions that have received final plat approval prior to the effective date of the County’s School Concurrency Ordinance; (b) Multi-family residential development having received final site plan approval prior to the effective date of the County’s School Concurrency Ordinance; or
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(c) Any residential development within a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Development Order adopted prior to July 1, 2006 or within a DRI application which was submitted prior to May 1, 2006.
“Reserved capacity” shall mean school facility capacity set aside for a development or use pursuant to a Certificate of School Concurrency. “Total school facilities” shall mean all existing school facilities and planned school facilities. “Used capacity” shall mean school facility capacity consumed by preexisting development.
9.2 The School Board, County, Cities and Towns agree to the following principles for school concurrency in Gadsden County: (A) The uniform methodology for determining if a particular school is over capacity shall be determined by the School Board and adopted into the County’s, Cities’ and Towns’ comprehensive plans. The School Board hereby selects Department of Education permanent capacity as the uniform methodology to determine the capacity of each school. The School Board will determine whether adequate school capacity exists for a proposed development, based on the Level of Service standards, Concurrency Service Areas, and other standards set forth in this Agreement, as follows: 1. Calculate total school facilities by adding the capacity provided by existing school facilities to the capacity of any planned school facilities. 2. Calculate available school capacity by subtracting from the total school facilities the sum of: a. Used capacity (existing or base enrollment); b. Vested capacity (the portion of previously approved development (vested from concurrency) projected to be developed within three years); c. The portion of committee or reserved capacity (received certificate of concurrency) projected to be developed within three years; and d. The demand on schools created by the proposed development.
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(B) School concurrency shall be applied on a less than district-wide basis until 2010 at such time concurrency shall be evaluated for individual schools and, when applicable, school zones to concurrency service areas as described in subsection (C) below. The uniform level-of service standards are initially set as follows, and shall be identified and included in the County’s, Cities’ and Towns’ public school facilities elements and capital improvements elements:
DISTRICT-WIDE
a. TYPE OF SCHOOL b. LEVEL OF SERVICE
C. Special Purpose d. 100% of DOE permanent capacity
BY SCHOOL FACILITY TYPE
a. SCHOOL b. LEVEL OF SERVICE
c. Elementary d. 100% of DOE permanent capacity
e. Middle d. 100% of DOE permanent capacity
g. K-8 d. 100% of DOE permanent capacity
i. High d. 100% of DOE permanent capacity
k. Special Purpose d. 100% of DOE permanent capacity
Potential amendments to these levels of service shall be considered at least annually at the staff working group meeting to take place no later than April 15 of each year. If there is a consensus to amend any level of service, it shall be accomplished by the execution of an amendment to this inter-local agreement by all parties and the adoption of amendments to the County’s and each City’s and Town’s comprehensive plan. The amended level of service shall not be effective until all plan amendments are effective and the amended inter-local agreement is fully executed. No level of service shall be amended without a showing that the amended level of service is financially feasible and can be achieved and maintained over the five years of the Capital Facilities Plan. If the
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impact of the project will not be felt by the third year of the Five Year Plan, any relevant programmed improvements in those years shall be considered available capacity for the project and factored into the level of service analysis. If the impact of the project will not be felt until years 4 or 5 of the Five Year Plan, any relevant programmed improvements shall not be considered available capacity for the project unless funding of the improvement is assured, through School board funding, the proportionate fair share mitigation process, or some other means, and the project is accelerated into the first three years of the Five Year Plan. (C) The concurrency service area shall be the County planning area. Concurrency service area boundaries shall be in the County’s, Cities’ and Towns’ comprehensive plans. Concurrency service areas shall maximize capacity utilization, taking into account transportation costs, court-approved desegregation plans and other relevant factors. The types of adjustments that will be considered in Gadsden County are determined by the School Board’s policies on maximization of capacity, as set forth in the Public Schools Facilities Element. Potential amendments to the concurrency service areas, or to redefine the concurrency service area as a different type of area, shall be considered annually at the staff working group meeting to take place each year no later than April 15. If there is a consensus to amend the concurrency service area to a different area, it shall be accomplished by the execution of an amendment to this inter-local agreement by all parties and the adoption of amendments to the County’s and each City’s and Town’s comprehensive plan. The amended concurrency service area or facility type shall not be effective until all plan amendments are effective and the amended inter-local agreement is fully executed. No concurrency service area or facility type shall be amended without a showing that the amended concurrency service area boundaries are financially feasible and can be achieved and maintained over the five years of the Capital Facilities Plan. (D) The School board staff, working with the County staff, Cities’ staff and Towns’ staffs, will develop and apply student generation multipliers for residential units by type and projected price for schools for each type, considering past trends in student enrollment
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in order to project school enrollment. The public school student generation rates shall be determined by the School Board in accordance with professionally accepted methodologies and proportionate share population ratios peculiar to Gadsden County, shall be updated at least every two (2) years and shall be adopted into the County’s, Cities’ and Towns’ comprehensive plans. The public school enrollment projections will be included in the tentative district educational facilities plan provided to the County, Cities and Towns each year as specified in subsection 9.3 of this amended inter-local agreement. (E) The County, Cities and Towns shall amend the concurrency management systems in their land development regulations to require that all new residential units be reviewed for school concurrency at the time of preliminary plat or preliminary site plan (or functional equivalent), using the coordination processes specified in Subsection 9.3 and Section 11 below, within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this amended inter- local agreement. The County or any City may choose to provide an informational assessment of school concurrency at an earlier time, but the test and capacity reservation of concurrency shall be applied at final plat or construction plan approval or final site plan approval. If no preliminary plat or site plan is carried over to obtain final plat or site plan approval, the capacity reservation shall be removed from the capacity reservation analysis spreadsheet. The assessment of available capacity by the School Board shall consider maximization of capacity and shifting of impacts as further detailed in Subsection F below. The County, Cities, and Towns shall not deny a final plat or site plan (or functional equivalent) for the failure to achieve and maintain the adopted level of service for public school capacity where: (1) Adequate school facilities will be in place or under actual construction within three (3) years after the issuance of the final plat or site plan (or functional equivalent); or (2) The developer executes a legally binding commitment to provide mitigation proportionate to the demand for public school facilities to be created by the actual development of the property subject to the final plat or site plan (or functional equivalent) as provided in Section F (3) below.
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However, this amended inter-local agreement shall not be construed to limit the authority of any City or the County to deny the preliminary or final plat or preliminary or final site plan (functional equivalent) for reasons other than failure to achieve and maintain the adopted level of service for public school capacity. The County, Cities and Towns, in consultation with the School Board, shall also amend their concurrency management systems in their land development regulations to address public school facilities, so that the annual monitoring reports provided to their governing bodies shall cover schools as well as the other concurrency facilities within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this amended inter-local agreement. (F) The School District shall establish within the Five Year District Facilities Plan the following standards for the application of proportionate share mitigation: 1. Student Generation Multiplier for dwelling units single family, multi family and mobile home housing types for elementary, middle and high schools shall be based upon the best available district-specific data and derived by a professionally acceptable methodology including characteristics unique to Gadsden County; 2. Cost per Student Station estimates for elementary, middle and high schools shall include all cost of providing instruction and core capacity including land, design, buildings equipment and furniture, and site improvements. The cost of ancillary facilities that generally support the school district and the capital costs associated with the transportation of students shall not be included in the Cost per Student Station estimate used for proportionate fair share mitigation; 3. The capacity of each school; and 4. The current and reserved enrollment of each school. The above factors shall be reviewed annually and verified for application for proportionate share mitigation purposes during the period that the Five Year District Facilities Plan is in effect. In the event that the School Board comments provided pursuant to Section 9.2A find that there is not sufficient capacity in the affected or contiguous concurrency service area to address the impacts of a proposed development, the following steps shall apply. Either,
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(1) The project must provide capacity enhancement sufficient to meet its impact through proportionate share mitigation; or (2) A condition of approval of the preliminary site plan or preliminary plat shall be that the project’s development plan and/or building permits shall be delayed to a date when capacity enhancement and level of service can be assure or only a final plat phase or portion of the final site plan able to comply with concurrency standards shall be approved; or (3) The project must not be approved. The School Board and the affected local government shall coordinate on the possibility of mitigation. Options for providing proportionate share mitigation for any approval of additional residential dwelling units that triggers a failure of level of service for public school capacity will be specified in the County’s and Cities’ public school facilities elements. The amount of mitigation required shall be determined by the Department of Education’s most current cost per student state applicable to Gadsden County, Options shall include the following: (i) Contribution of or payment for acquisition of new or expanded school sites; (ii) Construction or expansion of permanent school facilities; and (iii) Mitigation banking to be cumulatively combined with other projects contributing funds for school capacity improvements. Mitigation shall be directed to projects on the School Board’s Five- Year Capital Facilities Plan for expanding or accommodating capacity increases satisfying the demand created by that development approval, and shall be assured by a legally binding development agreement between the School Board, the relevant local government, and the applicant executed prior to issuance of any building permit for the project. The development agreement shall include the landowner’s commitment to continuing renewal of the development agreement upon its expiration, if necessary. The amount of mitigation required shall be calculated based on the cost per student station, as defined above, and for each school type (elementary, middle and high) for
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which there is not sufficient capacity. The Proportionate Share for a development shall be determined by the following formulas:
a. Number of New Student Stations Required For Mitigation (By School Type)= b. [Number of Dwelling Units Generation By Development Proposal Housing Type X Student Generation Multiplier (By Housing Type and School Type)] – Number of Available Student Stations c. Cost of Proportionate Share Mitigation = Number of New Student Stations Required For Mitigation (By School Type) X Cost Per Student Station (By School Type).
The full cost of proportionate share mitigation per student station generation per school type shall be required from the proposed development. The local government and the School Board shall consider the evaluation report and the options that may be available for proportional share mitigation including the amendment of the Five Year District Facilities Plan. If the local government and the School board find that options exist for proportionate share mitigation, they shall authorize the preparation of a development agreement and other documentation appropriate to implement the proportionate share mitigation options(s). A legally binding development agreement shall be entered into between the School Board, the relevant local government, and the applicant executed prior to issuance of the construction plan approval for a subdivision subject to final plat or, a site plan subject to final construction plan/site plan approval. In that agreement, if the School Board accepts the mitigation, it must commit to place the improvement required for mitigation on its five year plan. Such improvement shall not include portable buildings or temporary building intended for use for more than five years. This development agreement shall include the landowner’s commitment to continuing renewal of the development agreement upon its expiration. Upon execution of a development agreement among the applicant, the local government and the school district, the local government may issue a development order for the development. The development order shall be issued on condition upon compliance with the development agreement.
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9.3 The School Board, County, Cities and Towns shall use the processes and information sharing mechanism outlined in this Agreement to adopt the initial public school capital facilities program and public school facilities element, and to ensure that the school concurrency system is updated, the School Board’s capital facilities plan remains financially feasible in the future, and any desired modifications are made. Updated public school capital facilities programs will be adopted by reference into the County’s and Cities’ capital improvement elements no later than December 31 or each year.
Section 10. Supporting Infrastructure 10.1 In conjunction with the preliminary consistency determination described at subsection 11.1 of the agreement, the School Board and affected local governments will jointly determine the need for and timing of on-site and off-site improvements necessary to support each new school or the proposed significant renovation of an existing school, and will enter into a written agreement as to the timing, location, and the party or parties responsible for constructing, operating, and maintaining the required improvements.
Section 11. Site Plan Review 11.1 As early in the design phase of the site plan as feasible (pre-application conference phase or conceptual review phase), but at least 60 days before signing a contract for design services for school site plan design, the School Board will request a formal consistency determination from the local government with jurisdiction over the use of land. The local government will determine in writing, within 45 days after receiving a request and the necessary information from the School Board, whether a proposed public educational facility is consistent with the local comprehensive plan and land development regulations. 11.2 If a school site is consistent with the future land use policies and land use categories that allows public schools and is substantially consistent with the Land Development Regulations of the governmental jurisdiction, the local government may not deny the site plan application but impose reasonable development standards and conditions in accordance with Section 1013.33(13). The local government may consider the adequacy of the site plan as it relates to environmental concerns, health, safety and welfare, effects on adjacent property and impacts on infrastructure and transportation facilities (Section 1013.33(13), F.S.)
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Section 12. Amendment and Termination of Agreement This agreement may be amended by mutual adoption by all parties, at the yearly joint meeting or as the situation warrants. Any party may elect to withdraw from participation in this agreement upon official action of its governing body and after 30 days written notice to all other parties to this agreement. In such a case, the withdrawing party and the School Board may be subject to sanctions from the Administration Commission and the Department of Education unless they enter into a separate agreement within thirty (30) days that satisfies all the relevant requirements of the Florida Statutes. Any separate agreement must be consistent with the uniform district wide concurrency system.
Section 13. Notice. All notices or other communications provided for by this amended inter-local agreement shall be made in writing and shall be deemed properly delivered (i) Personally; (ii) By the facsimile transmission of such notice to the party entitled thereto, provided the sending party receives electronic confirmation thereof; or (iii)By the mailing of such notice to the parties entitled thereto, registered or certified mail, postage prepaid to the parties at the following addresses (or to such address designated in writing by one party to the other): If to the School Board Superintendent Gadsden County Public Schools 35 M L King Boulevard Quincy, Florida 32351 Fax: (850)627-2760 Phone: (850)627-9651 If to the County County Manager Gadsden County P.O. Box 1799 Quincy, Florida 32353-1799 Fax: (850)875-8655 Phone: (850)875-8650 If to the Cities/Towns City Manager City of Manager P.O. Box 438 Midway, Florida 32343 Fax: (850)574-0633 Phone: (850)574-2355
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City Manager City of Gretna P.O. Drawer 220 Gretna, Florida 32332 Fax: (850)856-9454 Phone: (850)856-5257
City of Chattahoochee Lee Garner, City Manager P.O. Box 188 Chattahoochee, Florida 32324 Fax: (850)663-2456 Phone: (850)663-4046
City Manager City of Quincy 404 W. Jefferson Street Quincy, Florida 32353 Fax: (850)627-7357 Phone: (850)627-7681
Town Manager Town of Havana P.O. Box 1068 Havana, Florida 32333 Fax: (850)539-8932 Phone: (850)539-2820
Mayor Town of Greensboro Greensboro, Florida 32330 Fax: (850)442-6680 Phone: (850)442-6215
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Appendix A
APPENDIX A Introduction The following section contains the data and analysis portions of the public school facilities element (2005-190, Laws of Florida). It explains the data collection methods, sources, and methodologies for: total population, school-age population, and school enrollment. Additional discussion regarding relocatables (in terms of capacity), calculating the student multiplier, and school facilities is also included in this section.
Total Population Methodology The first U.S. Census that included the City of Midway was conducted in 1990. This lack of historic data makes it difficult to project the city’s future trends. The ratio method which can make use of a smaller data set was used to compensate for this lack of data. With the ratio method, the population of a smaller area (Midway) is expressed as a proportion of a larger area (Gadsden) in which the smaller area is located (Smith, 2001). In contrast to the constant-share, this method recognizes that the target and pattern areas (the city and county, respectively) rarely grow at the same rate. By using a “shift-term” this method accounts for changes in population shares over time. Of the three ratio methods available (constant-share, shift-share, and share of growth) it was determined that the shift- share method results were most consistent with Midway’s Comprehensive Plan. As noted above, Midway will grow at a much faster rate than Gadsden County, so capturing this difference and projecting it forward was an important consideration in choosing the most appropriate methodology.
Based on the shift-share method the following procedures were used to calculate the City of Midway’s population projections:
Data Collection Historic population counts for the City of Midway (target area) and Gadsden County (pattern area) were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and from the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR). Projected population data for Gadsden were obtained from BEBR.
Calculations First, Midway’s population was derived for both 2000 and 2005. This was done by dividing Midway’s population in 2000 by Gadsden’s population in 2000 (the 2000 share), and by dividing Midway’s population in 2005 by Gadsden’s population in 2005 (the 2005 share). Subtracting Midway’s 2000 share from its 2005 share yields the percent change in population that has occurred over the 5-year period, which is referred to as the shift. To arrive at the city’s share of projected population for a given 5-year time period, the shift is multiplied by the number of shifts that have occurred during that time period. For example the City of Midway’s projected population in year 2015 represents two 5-year shifts (because 10 years have passed from 2005 to 2015). Thus, the
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“shift” would need to be multiplied by two to arrive at the city’s share of population for 2015 (Table A.1 illustrates this process).
Table A.1 Shift-Share Calculation Example Step Shift % Share (1) Share 2000 3.21% (2) Share 2005 3.29% (3) = (2)-(1) Shift 0.08% (4) = (2)+(3) 5 Year Shift 3.37% (5) = (2)+2* (3) 10 Year Shift 3.44% (6) = (2)+3* (3) 15 Year Shift 3.52% (7) = (2)+4* (3) 20 Year Shift 3.60%
The projected five year share was then multiplied by the BEBR medium projection for the year 2010 to arrive at the projected population for 2010. This process was then repeated for each five year projected time period.
Historic Student Enrollment Methodology Historic student enrollment for the City of Midway has been calculated by dividing City of Midway population by Gadsden County population for a given year, and then multiplying this figure by Gadsden County student enrollment for that same year. This process is illustrated in Table A.2 below.
Table A.2 Calculating City of Midway Student Enrollment, 1997-2006 Midway’s City of Gadsden Share of County Midway Midway County County Student Student School Population Population Population Enrollment Enrollment Year (A) (B) (A / B) (C) (A / B * C) 1996-97 1,172 46,322 0.025 8,551 216 1997-98 1,175 49,740 0.024 8,497 201 1998-99 1,183 50,820 0.023 8,360 195 1999-00 1,335 51,478 0.026 8,020 208 2000-01 1,446 45,087 0.032 7,582 243 2001-02 1,456 45,284 0.032 7,433 239 2002-03 1,491 45,911 0.032 7,195 234 2003-04 1,499 46,491 0.032 6,946 224 2004-05 1,487 46,857 0.032 6,651 211 2005-06 1,568 47,713 0.033 6,515 214 Note: All population-related data is reported in calendar years: the first year of a given school year indicates the calendar year used for corresponding population data. Source: Population data from U.S. Census and BEBR; Student enrollment from Florida Department of Education
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Differences in Historic Enrollment Table 2.3 reports average student enrollment, whereas Table 2.2 provides total student enrollment, including students who have only attended part of a year. This explains why there are differences in the historic enrollment figures reported in Tables 2.2 and 2.3 during overlapping years (2004-05 to 2005-06). In planning for future school facilities needs, this distinction is important as actual facility needs are better reflected by average student enrollment throughout a given year. If facility needs were planned according to total enrollment (as reported in Table 2.2), many facilities might be constructed that provide excess capacity for potentially many years into the future, which would divert valuable resources away from other public needs. Thus, average student enrollment provided by the COFTE data set is used (see Table 2.3).
School-Age Population Methodology In order to compare COFTE student enrollment (reported annually) with school-age population (reported every five years), calculations were performed to generate annual figures for Gadsden County’s school-age population based on available BEBR data from 2005, 2010 and 2015. Table A.3 illustrates this process for the years 2005 to 2010. This process was repeated through 2030, the results of which are shown in Figure 2.1 and Table 2.7 (See PSFE).
Table A.3 Calculating Annual School-Age Population, 2005 -2010 2010 School-Age (3) Plus the Resulting School-Age Population Less (2) Divided by Five School-Age Annual School- Population 2005 School-Age or the Number of Population of Age from BEBR Population Years Between 2005 the Prior Year Population Year (1) (2) and 2010 (3) (4) (5) 2005 8,236 247 49.4 8,236 2006 8,236 8,236 2007 8,236 8,236 2008 8,236 8,236 2009 8,236 8,236 2010 8,483 8,483 Source: 2005 and 2010 School-Age Population data from BEBR
Comparing Student Enrollment to School-Age Population Methodology It is recommended that COFTE be used for the short-term planning period and that the school-age population be used for the long-term planning period. Yet, analyzing the differences between these two data sets for Gadsden County reveals a problem. As Figure 2.1 illustrates, there is a drastic difference between these two data sets. Some degree of disparity should be expected due to methodological differences and differences in the data being presented. Yet, the difference observed between the two datasets ranges from 41 percent to 62 percent – a difference that would yield drastically different student multipliers between the short-term and long-term planning periods (See Figure A.1 and Table A.4 below).
The difference between the two data sets does not affect the short-term planning period because, as recommended by DCA’s Best Practices Guide for Public School Concurrency, the short-term
91 Appendix A planning period is based on COFTE student enrollment. However, it does affect the long-term planning period because using school-age population data, also recommended by DCA, seems unreasonable due to the large discrepancy between this data set and the COFTE data set.
Figure A.1 COFTE Student Enrollment and School-Age Population, Gadsden County
10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
9 0 06 07 11 12 004 005 0 0 00 01 0 0 013 014 015 2 2 2 2 2008 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2016 2017
COFTE Student Enrollment Student Age Population
Note: COFTE student enrollment data points correspond to the first year of each school-year. Source: COFTE data is from DOE; School-Age Population data is from U.S. Census and BEBR
Table A.4 COFTE and School-Age Population, Gadsden County COFTE Percent Difference Student School-Age between COFTE and Year Enrollment Population School-Age Population 2004 5,767 8,369 45% 2005 5,825 8,236 41% 2006 5,867 8,236 40% 2007 5,806 8,236 42% 2008 5,761 8,236 43% 2009 5,677 8,236 45% 2010 5,580 8,483 52% 2011 5,509 8,483 54% 2012 5,476 8,483 55% 2013 5,473 8,483 55% 2014 5,481 8,483 55% 2015 5,498 8,906 62% 2016 5,519 8,906 61% 2017 5,542 8,906 61% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Department of Education and Author’s Calculations
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Calculating the Student Multiplier
The student multiplier is used to determine impacts on student enrollment that occurs from new housing development. According to the Best Practices Guide for Public School Concurrency by the DCA, the student multiplier should be calculated by dividing COFTE student enrollment by occupied housing units for the five and ten year planning periods. COFTE student enrollment is used because it uses a technique that assumes that the last five years is the best indicator of what will happen over the course of the next ten years, making it best-suited for short-term planning purposes. COFTE student enrollment is then multiplied by the number of housing units being built in a specified year, which ultimately determines student enrollment anticipated by that year’s new development.
The Gadsden County student multiplier is:
[Grades PK-12 Students*] 5,825 = = 0.3586 [2005 Dwelling Units**] 16,243
*Florida Department of Education Capital Outlay Full-Time Equivalent (COFTE) 2005-2006 **Figure = number of housing units minus number of vacant dwelling units; US Census
From this formula, Gadsden County can expect 0.3586 students per dwelling unit. A 100 home subdivision could generate 36 (35.86) students. The interlocal agreement dictates that student generation be defined by school type. In order to calculate the generation rate by school type, the student distribution percentage is applied to the students per dwelling unit (Table A.5).
Table A.5 Students per Dwelling Unit by School Type, Gadsden County Grade Level Student Students per Number of Distribution Dwelling Unit by Grade Level Students Percentage School Type PK-6 3,424 59% 0.21 7-8 998 17% 0.06 9-12 1,403 24% 0.09 5,825
Based on the generation rates as illustrated in Table B.5, a proposed residential development with 100 dwelling units would generate 21 elementary students, 6 middle school students and 9 high school students.
Facilities Gadsden County’s permanent school facilities are on average 30 years old, yet this hides significant variation. For instance 30% of the facilities are 1 - 10 years old while 40% are between the ages of 31 – 50 and 15% are over the age of 50. While the age of permanent facilities varies greatly, most relocatable facilities are greater than twenty years of age. Table A.6 reports detailed school facilities information for Gadsden County.
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Table A.6 Physical School Inventory, Gadsden County Schools PHYSICAL PLANT High Schools 2 Middle Schools 2 Elementary Schools 8 Combination Schools 1 Permanent Stations 11,123 Relocatable Stations 1,312 Total Stations 12,435 CAPACITY FISH Capactiy (Perm. Stu Sta.) 9,648 Total Classrooms 473 TOTAL NET SQUARE FEET Permanent Net Sq. Ft. 1,406,614 Relocatable Net Sq. Ft. 100,021 Instructional Net Sq. Ft. 562,812 AGE OF PHYSICAL PLANT Average Age - Permanent Facility 30 % Sq. Ft. 1-10 Years Old 29.9% % Sq. Ft. 11-20 Years Old 13.8% % Sq. Ft. 21-30 Years Old 1.6% % Sq. Ft. 31-40 Years Old 26.1% % Sq. Ft. 41-50 Years Old 13.7% % Sq. Ft. >50 Years Old 14.9% Average Age - Relocatable Facility 31 % Sq. Ft. 1-10 Years Old 0.86% % Sq. Ft. 11-20 Years Old 22.4% % Sq. Ft. >20 Years Old 76.7% Source: Gadsden County School Board Work Program and Florida Department of Education
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Gadsden County Interlocal Agreement. (2006). Retrieved 9/22/07 from http://midway.govoffice.com/vertical/Sites/%7B1F4844EB-67C4-4131-89A9- 90D8056E6612%7D/uploads/%7B03742821-7368-475C-AADD-30218D51AE08%7D.PDF.
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