SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. — Student enrollment is taking a hit in Northwest Florida public schools.
School administrators say school vouchers are the top reason for the decline. Escambia saw the biggest decline. No school district in Northwest Florida is immune from losing students over school choice.
Recent data from the Florida Department of Education highlights a steady decline in public school enrollment. Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County schools have a combined 1,958 fewer students than last year.
Santa Rosa County has 475 fewer students this year. Superintendent Dr. Karen Barber says a bulk of that number comes from an online charter school no longer part of the district. Not counting the charter school, Santa Rosa County still saw a decline of .7%..
WEAR: “Do you attribute a significant amount of the enrollment decline to school choice?”Dr. Barber: “Oh absolutely. For the most part, that’s what the enrollment is.”
Barber says while the district is well below the state average for student decline, there’s a clear uptick in parents choosing alternative education.
While public school enrollment is down across Florida, the push for school vouchers has soared. More than 500,000 students now use the vouchers, nearly doubling from two years before.
Dr. barber says it’s not uncommon for students to leave and return.
“We are seeing a return of many students, who last year were home education, who are now back in our school district,” said Barber.
“I read a statistic. Since 2020, just in Florida, homeschooling has gone up 46%,” homeschool mom Tinley Stoner said. “That’s a lot.”
Though one parent in Okaloosa County made the choice to take her kids out and never look back. Stoner removed her fifth and eighth grade students out of the public school system during the COVID pandemic. For her family, Stoner says the freedom has furthered their education.
WEAR: “Do you ever worry they’re not learning at the level their friends are at school?”Stoner: “No, I don’t worry at all.”
“We learn together. It’s what they want to learn. We pick out of a jar. That’s what we learn in the week,” Stoner said. “From worldly landmarks, this week it’s Roman colosseum. That’s what they’re studying.”
WEAR: “Where and how and when do you know that your children are making the progress they should?”Stoner: “It’s to your discretion or you can have them tested. And by the time they’re seniors, have them take the ACT or whatever for college, if that’s the route they’re going.”
School districts, like Santa Rosa, are finding ways to compete in the school choice arena, offering home school programs within the school system through the voucher program. In turn, a portion of the school vouchers are actually invested right back in the school district.
Dr. Barber says they’ll still find a way to be a top consideration.
“We are the largest employer in the county. Over 4,400 adults dedicate their lives to the education of children in Santa Rosa County,” said Barber. “We continue to see graduation rates go up and up and up… What we have to do is market ourselves as the best choice.”
Northwest Florida schools faired well compared to other areas of the state. Palm Beach County is reporting a drop of 6,000 students from this time last year. The main reasons were immigrant families leaving the area and a massive wave of students taking school vouchers.