The School Conundrum
Lately there's been plenty of heated debate over how to fund construction of new schools. The knee-jerk reaction among many of the folks who already live here-a reaction echoed by many of our elected officials-is to stick homebuilders with the tab.
After all, the reasoning goes, if builders didn't build all those new homes, then we wouldn't need all those new schools.
Excuse me? If automobile dealers didn't sell so many new cars, we wouldn't need all those new roads, either. But I don't hear anyone blaming David Maus or Bob Dance for traffic jams.
If you're angry about growth, direct your wrath at the chambers of commerce that tout Central Florida as a great place to live. Or toss some brickbats at the businesses that create all those new jobs. Or just curse providence for giving this part of Florida such a temperate climate.
Sounds unreasonable, doesn't it? So let's agree that homebuilders are not the cause of growth. In fact, let's agree that home ownership is a positive for any community because it promotes stability and strengthens families.
But let's also agree that growth presents challenges that all of us need to face so that Central Florida remains a desirable place to be.
Right now, the responsibility is being disproportionately carried by the people who build new homes-and ultimately by the people who buy new homes.
Take schools, for example. If you buy a new home in the city of Orlando, there's a $7,000 school impact fee built into the price. The money is supposed to be used to build new schools that are made necessary by an increasing student population.
But if you buy an existing home, you pay nothing at all. Even if you have seven school-aged children while your neighbor in a new home has none, you get a free pass.
The problem of school overcrowding belongs to all of us, and it shouldn't be the sole responsibility of homebuilders to compensate for decades of misspending and poor planning.
I think that if most Central Floridians were certain that a slightly larger tax bill would truly result in world-class schools, they'd be willing to pony up. The problem is, competence has been lacking-especially on the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County School Board-and accountability has been nil.
So we first need to elect smart and capable people; then we need to give them the resources they need to do their jobs. And we also need to impose a fee on all real estate transactions, not just those involving new homes, so the burden is shared equitably.
Plus, we need to think outside the proverbial box. The Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando, for example, has come up with a program called School Express, through which developers would fund the up-front costs of school construction in exchange for expedited permitting and other considerations.
The plan makes sense to me, but despite the enthusiastic support of some powerful movers and shakers in the business community, so far our elected officials seem unwilling to give it a fair hearing.
Changing old paradigms is difficult, as we all know. But this is a time for bold solutions and strong leadership. If School Express isn't a good idea, then why don't the politicos come up with something better? With three kids in public school, I'm all ears.