Res No 029-19-15301'!
RESOLUTION NO. 029-19-1 5301
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission for the City of South
Miami, Florida, supporting changes in the statewide calculation of the
District Cost Differential (DCD) formula, and urging the Florida Senate and
Florida House of Representatives to pass SB 1284 and HB 1031.
WHEREAS, Miami -Dade Delegation Members Senator Manny Diaz and Representative
Vance Aloupis have filed bills, SB 1284 and HB 1031, to bring back equitable funding for
education to Miami -Dade County through changes in the statewide calculation of the District
Cost Differential (DCD) formula; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Price Level Index (FPLI) was created by the Legislature as the
basis for the District Cost Differential (DCD), a variable in the Florida Education Finance
Program (FEFP), using cost -of -living differences to represent the cost of hiring comparable
personnel across school districts; and
WHEREAS, for many years the Miami -Dade County School Board has made it a top
legislative priority to ensure that any changes to the DCD take into account cost differences
integral to educational institutions' operations, reflecting such costs as average teacher salaries,
health insurance for employees, as well as property insurance, housing, and transportation costs
per full-time equivalent (FTE); and
WHEREAS, in 2004, the Florida Legislature revised how the FPLI is calculated in the
DCD using wage variation in non -education fields, and since the change in 2004, M-DCPS has
lost approximately $950 million in potential funding; and
WHEREAS, in 2004-2005, M-DCPS' funding was 39 percent from local funds and 61
percent from state funds. Currently, 58 percent of our school district funding is from local funds,
and 42 percent from the state. As a result, the taxpayer in Miami -Dade pays $1,088 from local
dollars to get $82 state funds. This reduction in state funding to our school district resulted from
the change in the DCD and the addition of the Compression adjustment; and
WHEREAS, in November 2015, the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the
University of Florida, the same research institute that proposed the amenity -adjusted index,
concluded that 58 percent of the variance in teacher salaries across counties is unexplained by
the current DCD formula; and
WHEREAS, Miami -Dade County, with an area median income of $52,300, is in the
bottom third of the 67 Florida counties according to the 2018 HUD median area income for
Florida Counties; and
WHEREAS, the high cost of living is pricing out teachers from living in Miami -Dade.
According to financial news and opinion website 24/7 Wall St., Miami is the worst city in
America in which to live. The 2016 study found that "Miami's median home value of $245,000
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Resolution No. 029-19-15301
is well above the national median of $181,200. Consequently, most homes are either out of reach
or a financial burden on most Miami teachers; and
WHEREAS, Senator Diaz and Representative Aloupis have integrated into their bills the
three recommendations made by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) in its study to
improve the Florida Price Level Index used to calculate the DCD for the benefit of all school
districts across Florida: transparency, accuracy, and fitness -for -purpose; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami supports
Senate Bill 1284 and House Bill 1031.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1. The Mayor and City Commission hereby urges the Florida House of
Representative and the Florida Senate to pass SB 1284 and HB 1031 and to support changes in
the statewide calculation of the District Cost Differential (DCD) formula.
Section 2: The City Clerk shall forward a copy of this Resolution to Governor
Ronald Dion DeSantis, Senator Manny Diaz and Representative Vance Aloupis, all members of
the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, and all municipalities in Miami -Dade County.
Section 3. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
Section 4. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5t' day of March, 2019.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
a . "
CITY CLERK NfAYOA
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
COMMISSION VOTE: 5-0
Mayor Stoddard:
Yea
Vice Mayor Harris:
Yea
Commissioner Welsh:
Yea
Commissioner Liebman:
Yea
Commissioner Gil:
Yea
Page 2 of 2
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Agenda Item No:Ba.
City Commission Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: March 5, 2019
Submitted by: Thomas Pepe
Submitting Department: City Attorney
Item Type: Resolution
Agenda Section:
Subject:
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission for the City of South Miami, Florida, supporting changes in the
statewide calculation of the District Cost Differential (DCD) formula, and urging the Florida Senate and Florida
House of Representatives to pass SB 1284 and HB 1031. 3/5 (Mayor Stoddard & Vice Mayor Harris)
Suggested Action:
Attachments:
Reso - Supporting SB1284 HB1031 re Education Funding vla.doc
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