The school district will add full-time music and art teachers to its four smallest elementary schools starting in 2015-16. This restores programs that were previously shared between schools to save money. The decision comes after voters approved a property tax increase requiring restoration of art and music. The superintendent had also already planned to add more full-time specialty teachers at most of the district's larger elementary schools.

1. By Joe Callahan
Staff writer
The School district will add
full-time music and art teachers
to each of the four smaller
elementary schools in 2015-16,
after all.
The change of tune was
prompted initially by the School
Board and supported by the
teachers union and the commu-
nity group Marions United for
Public Education.
The 1 mill school property tax
referendum requires that the
district restore many programs,
including art and music.
For the past several years, one
art teacher and one music
teacher shared two schools each
to save money.
A few weeks ago, Superinten-
dent of Schools George Tomyn
announced plans to put full-time
art and music teachers back at
27 of the district’s 31 larger
elementary schools in 2015-16.
Tomyn decided two art
teachers and two music teachers
would share time at the district’s
four smallest elementary
schools: Sparr, Anthony,
Reddick-Collier and Eighth
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© 2015 Ocala Star-Banner
Ocala, Florida, Vol. 72, No.
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Thursday, March 26, 2015 www.ocala.com 75¢
By Jim Ross
Managing editor
Another year, another growth
record for The Villages.
For the second consecutive
year The Villages is the nation’s
fastest-growing metropolitan
area, the Census Bureau is
announcing today.
Between July 1, 2013, and July
1, 2014, The Villages’ population
jumped from 108,483 to 114,350.
That’s a 5.4 percent increase
— best in the nation.
Second place, at a 3.2 percent
increase, fell to Myrtle Beach-
Conway-North Myrtle Beach in
South Carolina and North
Carolina. Top honor also went to
The Villages for the 2012-13
span, when its population grew
by 5.2 percent.
The Villages — a retirement
development that covers parts of
Marion, Lake and Sumter
counties — has been growing
for many years.
Censusreport:TheVillagesisfastest-growingmetroarea
Now, full-time music and
art instructors will staff
all elementary schools.
School district changes its tune Healthcare
formental
illnessmay
seechanges
The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — As Florida lawmakers study
the impact of mental illness on the state’s troubled
criminal-justice and child-protection systems, the
House and Senate are proposing major overhauls
of services and funding for treatment programs.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on
Wednesday passed one such proposal (SB 7068),
which would change the way mental-health and
substance-abuse services are administered,
coordinate them with primary health care and
seek to increase Medicaid funding for them.
“The bill will lead to more continuity and less
fragmentation of services,” Senate Health and
Human Services Appropriations Chairman Rene
Garcia, R-Hialeah, said in a prepared statement.
“People suffering from mental illness and
substance abuse will receive more effective
treatment, and the service delivery system will be
more accountable to the taxpayers who fund
these important efforts.”
Two House panels, meanwhile, have launched
related proposals. On Tuesday, the House Chil-
dren, Families and Seniors Subcommittee
approved a measure (PCB CFSS 15-01) similar to
the Senate plan. The panel’s chairwoman, Rep.
Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said it was part of a
coordinated effort with the House Judiciary
Committee to boost the roles of mental health and
drug courts in judicial proceedings.
Harrell’s subcommittee also approved a study
intended to better serve people with mental
illness or substance-abuse disorders.
Mostly, the mental-health proposals drew praise
— from those who use the services, their loved
ones and professionals in the field.
Fastest-growing metro areas
Propertymanagement
firmagreestopayfines
By Richard Anguiano
Business editor
A developer paid $17,350 in homeowners’
association fees and an employee with an Ocala
property management company then wrote his
company a check for that precise amount, accord-
ing to documents obtained from the Florida
Department of Business and Professional
Regulation.
The same property management firm improp-
erly conducted meetings of another homeowners’
association, did not adjourn one meeting in 2013,
and failed to elect a board of directors for 2014,
the documents show.
Property Management Consultants Inc. of
Ocala, whose principals include S. Wesley
Herren and Deborah Herren, has settled with the
state concerning those administrative com-
plaints, agreeing to fines of $2,000, plus costs, for
each.
House GOP Unites to Pass
Conservative budget, 3A
Man, 30, fatally shot
at home in shores, 1B
Doug Engle/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A construction worker spreads rocks as part of the State Road 40 west project between Southwest 80th
Avenue and County Road 328 on Wednesday.
Transportationimpact
feemightbeonhorizon
By Kristine Crane
Staff writer
M
ost people who travel
on roads probably take
them for granted. But
the road beneath your
wheels came at a cost.
Depending on where
you are, the state or
the county shoulders
those costs. But the source of that
money is another story.
Many counties — about 40 of Flor-
ida’s 67 — use impact fees to
finance roads. The one-time fees
are part and parcel of properties —
both residencies and commercial
buildings — and are paid by
developers.
Marion County first implemented
impact fees in 1990, and subse-
quently suspended them in 2010
because of the recession. Given the
“fragile economy,” said Greg
Stubbs, director of growth services
for Marion County, “instituting
impact fees were a real concern.”
The county’s moratorium on
impact fees expires in October, and
the County Commission is care-
fully considering the feasibility and
potential consequences of reintro-
ducing one of them: the transporta-
tion fee.
Consultants from Tampa-based
Tindale-Oliver Associates told
commissioners earlier this week
that building 1 mile of road in one
lane costs $1.65 million. That’s
lower than the average cost of $2.11
million for the 17 other counties the
consultants examined, said Nilgun
Kamp, director of public finance
and infrastructure planning at
Tindale-Oliver. County engineers
suspect the county’s rural nature
accounts for Marion’s lower cost.
According to another calculation,
it costs $355 for one car to travel 1
mile in Marion County, Kamp told
CountyCommissionweighingwhetherroadprojectsrequiremorefunding
Alan Youngblood/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER/FILE
Jeanne Socha teaches a first-grade art class
at Ocala Springs Elementary in 2014.
SLUG: SLUGHERE
SIZE: SIZE
LOCATION: Graphics News
EDITS:
Reporter ––––––––––––––
Editor ––––––––––––––
News Desk ––––––––––––
1
2
3
9
4
5
6 10
7
8
Area % increase*
1. The Villages 5.4%
2. Myrtle Bch.-Conway- N. Myrtle Bch., S.C./N. C. 3.2%
3. Austin-Round Rock,Texas 3%
4. Odessa,Texas 2.9%
5. St. George, Utah 2.9%
6. Cape Coral-Fort Myers 2.7%
7. Bend-Redmond, Oregon 2.7%
8. Greeley, Colorado 2.6%
9. Midland,Texas 2.6%
10. Naples, Immokalee-Marco Island 2.5%
* July 1, 2013 - July 1, 2014
SOURCE: U.S. Census
SO MUCH MUSIC:
JAZZ, COUNTRY A BIT
OF SOUL ON STAGE, GO
teachers on Page 7A
State lawmakers’ proposals to improve
services have drawn praise from many.
proposals on Page 7A
settlement on Page 7A
Census on Page 7A
roads on Page 7A