Dear Martin County Taxpayer;

The Martin County Taxpayers Association (MCTA) has invested months of study and consultation involving, and including, interviews with School Board members, the Superintendent, and School District Comptroller. The need for serious consideration of many long and short term issues is apparent. We urge the Martin County School Board and Administration to debate these issues openly and honestly; devoid of political consideration.

The seriousness of the financial status of the Martin County school system is indisputable. Services and spending are exceeding the revenue available for operation of the School District. Immediate steps need to be taken by the School Board members and the Superintendent to reverse those trends. We fear that failure to do so will result in falling morale, deterioration in quality of programs, and the bankruptcy of future capital programs.

The Martin County Taxpayers Association offered its assistance in reaching these goals and recommended the following suggestions toward reversing those financial trends:

The School Board should publicly develop a position statement as to the need and the commitment to change its financial situation.

The School Board should adopt a policy stating that each change or addition to a program be accompanied by a financial impact statement; both long and short term. All recommendations that involve a financial commitment should identify the source of revenue and a meaningful method of accountability before approval is given.( The District should begin an immediate analysis of spending patterns of the past four or five years. (The object of this study is not to find fault with past decisions, but to provide guidance for making necessary corrective changes.)

( MCTA supports the Internal Auditor position. This position should include in depth review of all operations of the district with the intent to reduce or eliminate operations, expenses, positions, and programs that do not support the fundamental mission of the School Board. Programs should be self-supportive where possible and feasible.

( Every effort should be extended to gain relief and reform from the State Legislature to remedy a financial funding system that requires this School District to continually borrow significantly to meet expenditures resulting in tremendous interest costs. The funding of the Districts must be designed to allow for the timely distribution of the Publicís money to the Publicís children and teachers.

( The School Board should re-examine its school construction programs to plan for the long and short term needs and eliminate the need for costly Bond Issues. The School Board and County Commission should collaborate to coordinate school sites in an effort to reduce land and infrastructure costs and to insure schools are built where needed, when needed, reducing transportation costs.

MCTA applauds the decision to adjust High School schedules by making the seventh period optional while increasing the required number of teaching periods. While we do not believe, nor do we think it our province to make educational decisions, we believe that fiscal responsibility and good financial health are essential to the well being of our educational system.

Mr. Noah Powers, Director of Operational Services for the Martin County School Districts, was the featured speaker at the December MCTA Board meeting. The board members received a brief education on state and local funding of our schools and explanations of state mandates. The School Board Review committee, Sherry Westerfield, Jim Navitsky, Dr. Mansfield Williams, Bob Adams, and Gene Greenwood, have been greeted with a spirit of cooperation and courtesy as they continue to meet with School Board members, Superintendent Dr. Sara Wilcox, and members of the School District staff to discuss financial strategies and future plans.

Your officers and Board of Directors are also working to make the MCTA more relevant, and we need your help.

In the past, MCTA has been a reactive organization. We would complain about what we though was over-spending or poor government, but we were generally speaking after the fact. Now we have become an activeforce for better government.

For the past year a budget review committee has been working to install a form of zero-based budgeting in several county departments. Martin County has adopted this program for all departments and we are discussing implementation with the constitutional officers. Budget figures will be available in ample time for review, allowing comments and suggestions from the MCTA prior to the budget hearings. However, we need more qualified people to assist in this study. It will be time consuming; it will be hard work; IT WILL BE WORTHWHILE ! If you feel qualified, we encourage you to volunteer by calling the office at 288-0474.

MCTA is also considering a regular column in the Stuart News called Taxpayers Report. We need people with ideas for topics and research teams to find similar existing columns to be used as resources. Committed volunteers are essential to the success of this project. A regular voice in the community will provide MCTAwith more clout in the county.

No organization can grow and become successful through the work of a small percentage of its members. We can become a major force for better government only if a sizable number of you are willing to help. Please come forward now! We encourage you to share this newsletter with your friends and neighbors and invite them to become involved in MCTAís pursuit for a meaner, leaner government.