Justin Vick

ZEPHYRHILLS – The Zephyrhills Daughters of the American Revolution has approached city leaders about allowing a permanent masonry burning pit to be built at Veterans Memorial Park to retire U.S. flags.

The Echebucsassa Chapter of DAR plans to pursue $40,000 through the America 250 Florida Grants program, according to Regent Marie Wunderlich. The program, offered through the Florida Department of State, is accepting grant applications through Aug. 6. 

“Currently, there exists no venue open to the public for them to witness such a ceremony, partake in such a ceremony by providing their flags, and educating the children about the U.S. flag,” Wunderlich told the city council July 28. “Not only why we raise it, why we salute it, why we pledge to it, but why we burn it.”

The U.S. Flag Code suggests burning a flag in a dignified way when it is no longer a “fitting emblem for display.”

Wunderlich said the grant would include eight benches, each representing the different branches of the Armed Forces.

“We would like to have signage educating the public on not only the Declaration of Independence,” Wunderlich said, “but Revolutionary period events – whether it would be the Liberty Tree, the different battles that took place – an educational experience devoted to the history of our veterans’ service, from Revolutionary War period to the current period.”

Wunderlich said these park upgrades can be used by all patriotic and civic organizations, such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Veterans of Foreign Wars. 

The council was receptive to the idea, saying that staff could make sure the grant proposal aligns with ongoing park plans. One member of the council offered to get his daughter, who has written grants professionally, to help with the application. 

 

Neighbor reports park abuse

Neighbor Michael Cooper has encouraged the City of Zephyrhills to do something about people riding motorcycles, ATVs and golf carts at Veterans Memorial Park. 

Cooper told the Zephyrhills City Council on July 28 that he and his wife enjoy walking at the park but people are driving on the grass and pavement all the time. 

“You call the cops – sometimes they show up, a lot of times they don’t,” Cooper said. “So I called the city manager, complained several times. He talked to them. When they do come out and catch them, they don’t do nothing to them. They just let them go. I don’t understand it. How are they going to learn not to do this?”

LAND O’ LAKES – Pasco County Schools is trying to finalize its 2025-26 fiscal year budget despite some challenging variables from state and federal governments. 

Staff has brought forward a $2.3 billion tentative budget to the school board. This represents a 2.3% increase from the 2024-25 budget and includes $1.1 billion for the general fund (primary operating fund) and $671.5 million budget for capital projects (construction/facilities fund).

“They are working,” Superintendent John Legg said of his team. “They put their numbers together, and it just seems like within a couple of hours, they have to adjust it because more information is coming.”

Legg said it seems like the district keeps getting new information due to the state budget being late and the federal government reviewing grants. 

Tammy Taylor, chief financial officer for Pasco County Schools, met with the school board July 22 to explain some of the state and federal impacts on the budget. 

 

Student enrollment  

Pasco County Schools projects traditional schools will see a 638-student decrease this coming year as interest grows in charter and private schools.

Taylor said the district expects to get $3.6 million less in funding due to declining enrollment. 

The district expects charter school enrollment to grow by 1,645 students. This comes as three new charter schools open in 2025-26: Imagine School at Trinity, Pinecrest Academy Connerton and Pinecrest Academy Connerton Middle School.

The district also anticipates an increase of 1,645 students receiving the Florida Empowerment Scholarship, a program that helps families pay tuition for private schools.

Taylor said the district accounts for approximately 79% of enrollment in the county with charter schools at 11% and Florida Empowerment Scholarship at 10%.

 

Florida Empowerment Scholarships

Funding for the Florida Empowerment Scholarship has grown from $33.9 million in 2023-24 to $51.2 million in 2024-25 to $71 million in 2025-26. 

“These funds are included in our budget,” Taylor told the scholar board. “It’s very difficult when we’re looking at balancing the budget and reserves when there’s this large sum of money in here that really never comes to us and becomes part of our budget.”

Taylor said the state didn’t budget enough for the scholarships in 2024-25, resulting in the district waiting on $1.5 million in anticipated revenue. 

“Our desire would be to see FES scholarship students as their own school, similar to Florida Virtual School, so the funds are not included in our budget,”  Taylor said. “It would be much easier across the state if they were set up as their own schools but we’ll see what happens.”

 

Employee health insurance & retirement rates

The district will contribute $8,801 per employee this year for health insurance. Taylor said this represents a 40% increase over the past 10 years. 

“The fund is experiencing a very bad year and is expected to have a $15 million shortfall,” Taylor said. “Discussions are still ongoing and subject to negotiations to bring the plan back into compliance with the required reserves.”

In total, the district expects to pay $112,807,393 in health insurance expenses for 2025-26. 

The district is also seeing an increase in retirement rates. 

Pasco County Schools projects $76.2 million in retirement expenses compared to $75.8 million in 2024-25 and $72.5 million in 2023-24. Five years ago, the district’s retirement expenses totaled $48.7 million.

 

Florida Education Finance Program changes

Finance staff has had to adjust to state changes to funding categories, such as instructional materials, reading allocation and classroom supply funds. 

Another change, made this year, involves “academic acceleration options” that includes Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and similar programs. 

Taylor could not say at this time how this would impact the district. 

 

Federal Funding

Taylor said that $6.3 million in federal grants are being held for review. 

This includes line items for supporting effective instruction/teacher retention ($3.5 million), student support and academic enrichment ($1.9 million), language instruction for immigrants ($798,099) and migrant education ($83,840).

Not getting this funding will result in staff going back to the school board with budget changes. As many as 56 positions are funded through these allocations, Taylor said.

The district has received grants that were originally withheld, including the 21st century community learning centers ($2.5 million). Grant funding related to adult general education was received but reduced from $845,536 to $406,432. 

 

Millage rates 

The district will vote on a budget with a total millage levy of 6.274 mills, which is a 0.057 decrease from the previous year. 

Taylor said the owner of a $350,000 home would pay $2,039.05 in school taxes, a decrease of $18.53 from 2024 millage rates.

 

Salary referendum revenue

Pasco County voters approved a referendum to allow the school board to levy up to one mill in each of the four years of the referendum to increase salaries for teachers, bus drivers, nutrition staff and custodians. 

This has allowed a starting teachers’ salary to increase by $2,500 with an average teacher supplement of $5,800. 

“The district is very thankful to the voters for their trust and support of the school district in this effort,” she said. Without these funds, it would be an even more challenging year and the district could not remain competitive with our surrounding counties.”

The district projects $64,129,768 in projected revenue in 2025-26 from this move.

 

School board reacts

School board members did not express shock at Taylor’s presentation. 

District 2 Member Colleen Beaudoin credited Taylor and her team for keeping the board in the loop for several months. 

District 3 Member Cynthia Armstrong appreciated the staff’s conservative approach to budgeting, noting how preparing for worst-case scenarios positions Pasco County Schools better than other school districts. 

Superintendent John Legg reiterated that the biggest variable involves getting health insurance wrapped up from the previous year and forecasting for next. Legg said the district may get updated information about this in the coming days. 

The district is required to hold two public hearings for the budget. The first hearing, scheduled for July 29, is to adopt a millage and tentative budget. The second hearing, scheduled for Sept. 9, is to adopt the final millage and budget. 

“Employee salaries and benefits is the largest portion of the district’s budget and it accounts for over $667 million,” Taylor said. “Over 90% of the budget is appropriated to instruction and school level programs. A small percentage of our budget is going to other areas.”

 

LAND O’ LAKES – Superintendent John Legg expressed concern to the school board July 8 about how state and federal decisions will affect the budget for Pasco County Schools.

Legg told the school board that a state budget had been signed since their last meeting. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated signing a $117.4 billion fiscal year budget on June 30 for 2025-26 after making $567 million in line item vetoes.

DeSanctis’ office said the budget “builds on Florida’s record investments in education, providing a historic $15.9 billion in funding for the K-12 public school system.” 

His office also touted $1.36 billion to provide salary increases for teachers and other instructional personnel, an increase of about $101.6 million from the previous fiscal year. 

Legg described it to the school board as “a tight budget.” The school board will explore how the state budget will affect the district’s general operations on July 22. 

“While we may be in better shape than some districts, we still have challenges,” Legg said. “We’re not going to be able to do everything we want. We have some hard decisions that we are going to have to wrestle with here in the next several weeks.”

Legg told the school board, “I do feel like our backs are up against the wall a little bit in terms of timing. We’d rather have these discussions in May rather than in July but our team is working very aggressively on that.”

Pasco County Schools is also concerned about recent news that the U.S. Department of Education is withholding nearly $7 billion in grant funding. 

Legg said the district hopes to get clarity or a time frame on the withheld grants in a phone call this week. 

“We don’t want to do some draconian cuts or adjustments when the money may just be released in three or four weeks,” Legg said. “So we want to make sure we proceed cautiously but we also don’t want to overextend ourselves as well. We want to be very cautious in how we proceed in that area. That has definitely caused us some consternation.”

Jeff Larsen, president of the United School Employees of Pasco, also shared concerns with the school board July 8 about the federal freeze on education grant funding. 

“This horrible decision from the federal government could have disastrous implications if it is not reversed,” Larsen said. “We stand ready to work with the district on the potential impacts of this issue.”

 

Governor’s Veto List

Here are line items related to Pasco County that were included in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto list: 

• Empowering Educators: A Resilience Initiative for Hillsborough and Pasco Counties (SF 1678) (HF 2520) – $1,00,000.
• Affordable Homeownership Initiative in Pasco and Hernando (SF 1680) (HF 1216) – $750,000.
• United Way of Pasco County – Fighting Human Trafficking Program (SF 1607) (HF 1251) – $271,350.
• Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (SF 1677) (HF 1268) – $100,000.
• East Pasco Emergency Shelter (SF 1524) (HF 2578) – $25,000.

 

Editor’s Note: Francesca Stubbs, senior pastor at Oasis Church, gave these remarks during the June 9 Zephyrhills City Council meeting. 

I stand before you as the founder and chief operating officer of Oasis Community Outreach and Cafe to share the critical needs of our community and to seek your invaluable support.

Oasis Community Outreach and Cafe has taken on the humbling task of being a beacon of hope for many in our city since the unfortunate closing of Healing Hearts Cafe in December 2024, providing essential support to those facing hardship. 

Recently, we have witnessed a dramatic rise in families with young children seeking our services, driven by economic challenges and job losses. 

Our mission has expanded from feeding the homeless to supporting entire families who find themselves in desperate need.

While we are deeply grateful for the generous contributions of food and supplies from our donors, some financial seeds from our friends and our community, and the huge support shown from our church, Oasis Church, and its members, these donations do not always cover all of the growing financial overhead necessary to maintain and carry out our operations.

Despite our best efforts, including a commendable grant application applied for through Pasco County for community development funds, we were not selected due to a limited amount of funding available and the number of organizations with similar applications here in the East Pasco region.

As we face the summer months and an increasing number of children out of school, the need for our services grows ever more urgent. I come before you with a heartfelt appeal for financial assistance as our city council and community leaders.

Your support would enable us to continue our outreach, expand our programs, and ensure that every individual and family, especially those with children in our community, has access to basic necessities that they deserve.

I’m asking the city to look into their budget and to assist with funding our community endeavor. 

We are a 501c3 organization operating under the auspices of Niecy’s Hope for Kings and Queens, who seeks to be able to continue our assistance for the residents of our beloved neighborhood. 

But we know collaboration and help from our partners will provide a significant boost. 

Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Thank you for your time, your compassion and your commitment to our community. 

I look forward to the possibility of partnering with you to make a lasting difference in the lives of those we serve here in our beautiful city of Zephyrhills.

 

INFOBOX: Council member responds

Zephyrhills City Council Member Steve Spina said the city provides funding to CHIPZ (Community Hope & Intervention Project of Zephyrhills). He also mentioned homeless outreach by the Zephyrhills Police Department.

Spina asked Stubs if her organization worked with these groups. 

“The idea of CHIPZ was to bring different groups together so everything’s under kind of one umbrella,” Spina said. “I think before we were to pledge more money to another organization, I’d like to see what you can do with CHIPZ and work with the police department and see if we can’t resolve these issues. Because CHIPS does all those things as well – working with providing utility reimbursements, trying to keep families in their houses, and then finding emergency care.”

Stubs said her organization collaborates with CHIPZ regularly but she said there’s a gap in service when it comes to helping children of struggling families. 

NEW PORT RICHEY – Pasco County commissioners approved a proclamation June 17 encouraging the community to support and celebrate people recovering from addiction. 

The proclamation not only recognizes Pasco as an Inclusive Recovery County but also mentions the collaboration of groups like the Alliance for Healthy Communities, The Hope Shot and Drug-Free America Foundation.

“We hope that this proclamation and this movement continues to grow so we can become more diverse and show that recovery is possible for anybody from any walk of life in any side of Pasco County, all over,” said Nathan Cantie, peer support director for The Hope Shot. 

Cantie said collaboration among community organizations helps create opportunities for those battling addiction and empowers them to walk on their own through those doors. 

“Inclusive recovery means breaking down stigma,” Cantie told commissioners. “It means building systems that embrace diversity and offer real opportunities for healing. This proclamation is a statement that Pasco County is committed to that vision, and we are so grateful for your leadership in helping make it a reality.”

Commissioners expressed appreciation for the work that The Hope Shot does in the community. Based in New Port Richey, it has three primary programs: 

• All Ways Center – A recovery center, based at 6020 U.S. 19, that offers resources and support. 
• Bridge to Recovery – Peer-led coaching to help people live healthy lifestyles.
• Community Connection – A program that connects people to employment and housing opportunities. 

Commissioner Lisa Yeager said that The Hope Shot meets people where they are. She’s seen them help people not only overcome  alcohol and substance abuse but also receive help during storm recovery. 

Commissioner Seth Weightman described The Hope Shot’s work as mission-driven and oftentimes thankless. He thanked them for their passion, love, tenderness and care.

 

Upcoming event

The Hope Shot is planning a Stronger Together Recovery Walk from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 20 at Sims Park in New Port Richey. Visit thehopeshot.org or facebook.com/thehopeshot for details about the nonprofit.

WESLEY CHAPEL – Kenneth Sawyer has lived for 100 years, with much of that time in service to his country and his community. 

Sawyer served 35 years in the Army, earning the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring in 1979. 

He also taught calculus for four years at the Florida Institute of Technology, volunteered at a local fire department and a charity thrift shop, served as commander of a VFW Post for more than 10 years and raised a family.

“He continues to always work his mind and his body and stay away from mindless tasks,” granddaughter Holly Mace said. “That was something he taught me as a kid. You can watch TV and enjoy a movie, but avoid those boredoms and those traps. Keep your mind as your strongest muscle and keep exercising it, learning and giving back.”

Mace said her grandfather rode a bicycle until he was 88 years old. After breaking his leg within two weeks of moving to Pasco County, the family gave him an adult tricycle, which he rode until about a year ago. 

Sawyer continues to live an active lifestyle. He visits the Dade City Senior Center twice a week and enjoys playing bridge. He also keeps his mind sharp by playing Sudoku. 

The Pasco Board of County Commissioners recognized Sawyer on June 17 with a resolution in honor of his 100th birthday, which he celebrated on June 6. Everyone at the meeting, including familiar faces from the Dade City Senior Center, sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

Commissioners took turns thanking Sawyer for his military service and congratulating him for making it to 100. 

Commissioner Ron Oakley, who turns 80 years old this month, said he was glad Sawyer was there because he wasn’t the oldest person in the room. Commissioner Jack Mariano encouraged Sawyer to shoot for 105. 

“Just amazing the things that you’ve seen and experienced in your life and watching this country evolve to where we are today,” Commissioner Seth Weightman told him. “I just can only imagine the stories and the memories that you have. So we’re very glad that you’re here with us in the board meeting today.”

ZEPHYRHILLS – The Zephyrhills City Council voted June 9 to purchase two lots at the corner of Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue next to Zephyr Park.

Mayor Melonie Bahr Monson brought the proposal before the council as an emergency item. Because the property was less than $80,000 ($79,999.99 to be exact), the council could move forward with the purchase without an appraisal. 

“As soon as we own the property, I will send it to our designer for the park, our consultant that’s working on the CRA plan,” Monson told colleagues. “The idea is to have control over it, because it is such an important corner, that we can come up with a great idea for it.”

Monson and Council Member Steve Spina didn’t like the idea of using the site just for parking. 

“I don’t think we’d want to just build a parking lot on a corner on Fifth Avenue when we’re trying to develop it,” Spina said. “But I do believe it’s important to be figured into what we’re doing at Zephyr Park. It could be an important asset the way it’s linked to the other vacant property along Fifth Avenue.”

Monson assured colleagues the Community Redevelopment Agency already had $300,000 available to purchase land so there would be no additional funding needed. 

Councilman Lance Smith, whose background is in real estate development, didn’t have any objections with the purchase. He felt the price was fine. 

“I think the value lies in it being adjacent to property that we’re going to do something with,” Smith said.  “I agree with Councilman Spina that the use would certainly be some type of retail use that would be complementary to what we’re doing in the park area.”