Highlands board reviews allocation memo showing net staff‑unit changes and warns of insurance‑driven budget shortfall

At a second workshop on June 15 the Highlands County School Board received a detailed allocation memo showing personnel and departmental budget shifts for the coming year and heard several members warn that rising insurance costs and falling enrollment could force additional reductions.

Staff said the fifth draft of the allocation memo reflects a total net change of 64.8 staff units, with the most prominent figure discussed being a projected roughly $600,000 in savings tied to changes at the Academy model. Presenters enumerated specific reductions: elimination of several paras, a mental‑health counselor, a bookkeeper and an SRO, and the removal or reallocation of some content‑specialist positions. At the same time administrators described adding or reallocating fractional units (for example, a 0.5 support‑facilitator allocation targeted to the Academy) and stressed the plan is a test model that will require close monitoring.

Student support services director Melissa Blackman told the board that the Academy has a higher intensity of students with special needs and remains under Office of Civil Rights monitoring; she advocated aligning resource teachers and ESE support accordingly and clarified that some allocations are shifts rather than net new positions.

The finance presentation outlined department‑level changes to operating budgets (excluding salaries) totaling about $24.95 million, an increase of roughly $209,000 from last year. Contracted services — notably behavioral health contracts and the final year of a custodial wage phase‑in tied to a $15 minimum — were cited as major drivers of the increase. Presenters said custodial contract increases account for hundreds of thousands of dollars and that declining enrollment has already reduced some federal Title allocations.

Board members repeatedly identified insurance costs as the most acute pressure. One member said rising health‑plan costs could outpace any staffing savings and urged urgent committee work; staff said recommendations from an insurance committee are expected in July and that trim and final budget hearings are scheduled for July (tentative public hearing) and September (final public hearing).

No formal cuts were adopted at the workshop. Board members asked for clearer line‑item changes the board could act on, and staff committed to returning with additional detail and committee recommendations in coming weeks.