TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Leon County school leaders held tough, important discussions Monday as they work to trim $7.8 million from the district’s budget for the upcoming school year.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna presented his recommendations to the school board ahead of Tuesday’s vote on the proposed budget reduction plan.
The proposal includes a $2.3 million reduction in district cost centers, a $4.8 million cut in staffing, $500,000 in cuts to arts and athletics programs, and a $125,000 decrease in funding for community groups.
“What we don’t want to do is over budget and overspend, then we have a major mess to clean up,” Hanna said.
Hanna said the plan has taken time to develop, and he appreciates the board members and the input from the community.
“It took us a while to get here, and I appreciate the board members because this weighed heavily on all of us,” he said. “I appreciate all the people that have come and spoke at school board meetings over the last several months.”
More Tallahassee news:
As the district approaches its budget deadline, schools are being asked to begin preparing for possible impacts. Hanna said he plans to meet with principals starting in early April to discuss how reductions could affect individual campuses.
“I’ll be working with each individual school principal on what that looks like at their site,” he said. “We’ll work with those principles on an individual basis to find out where their needs are.”
The proposed cuts, particularly to arts and athletics, are already raising concerns among some parents like Jennifer Broder.
“To hear that they’re cutting funding to that, It makes me very upset,” Broder said. “If it’s not coming from the school, it’s going to have to come from us, the families, and so we’re going to have to put money out for our kids to have the same opportunities, which I feel is ok for my family, but it’s not going to be ok for every family in the community.”
District leaders say uncertainty around the state budget is a key factor in the situation, as lawmakers have not yet finalized funding.
“We can always go back if we see in June or July that hey financially were not in as bad shape as we thought, the legislature has come through, we can always go back and add positions,” Hanna said.
Hanna also said he is no longer recommending closing Leon County Virtual School. Instead, the district is exploring a different model to reduce costs.
The Leon County School Board is set to vote on the proposal on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the school board office. Public comment will be available ahead of the meeting.
On Monday, board members say they all support the budget heading into the vote.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here to get started.
Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.