A memo issued by Orange County Public Schools on Wednesday has revealed that the district is facing $8.5 million in budget cuts amid a huge decline in student enrollment.
The memo — obtained by News 6 — states that student enrollment is continuing to go down, which has led to drastic measures.
“Because state funding is largely driven by student enrollment, any decline results in a reduction in state funding,” the memo reads.
Furthermore, the district is also facing increasing healthcare costs thanks to the growing deficit in the Employee Benefits Trust — costing the district another $20 million for each month that passes without changes to the health insurance plan, the memo notes.
As such, district officials said that school budgets and staffing formulas have been “recalculated” to help address these constraints, with schools that have fewer students than expected seeing changes to their budgets.
Last year, over 200 district-level positions were eliminated, with district department budgets being reduced by 5% over the past two years, officials added.
“Due to ongoing declines in enrollment, reduced state revenue, and rising healthcare costs, there will be an additional $8.5 million in budget reductions at the district level,” the memo continues. “While these decisions are difficult, our priority remains protecting classroom instruction, supporting students, and preserving essential services whenever possible.”
OCPS said its 10-day enrollment count confirms student numbers are continuing to fall.
District 6 school board member Stephanie Vanos told News 6 in a Wednesday interview that OCPS had anticipated enrollment decline, but not to this degree. OCPS reported last week enrollment had dropped by nearly 8,000 students.
“We are definitely feeling some budget pressures,” Vanos said.
The Orange County Classroom Teachers Association said cuts should be made “as far away from the classroom as possible.”
In a statement, CTA president Clinton McCracken went on to say, “OCPS receives more than $250 million a year from the One Mill, yet unlike every single other large Florida district, OCPS does not dedicate a percentage of that funding to increasing teacher pay. Before cutting teachers and school-based positions, the district should take a much harder look at a district administration that has grown increasingly focused on micromanaging how teachers do their jobs.”
Vanos said protecting positions with direct student contact is a priority.
“So the district is prioritizing supporting making sure that our classroom teachers and our support staff, the people who are in the schools who are having direct contact with students are sort of the last places that are going to see cuts,” she said.
Vanos said the district could shift resources between schools depending on student counts.
“What will probably happen is that resources will be shifted,” Vanos said, describing the possibility of teachers or support staff moving from schools with lower-than-expected enrollment to schools with higher-than-expected enrollment.
Vanos also pointed to the one-mill property tax question on the November ballot as an important piece of future district funding. She said the measure supports about 2,000 positions and programs such as arts and sports.