ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools leaders are reminding residents of their successes and warning about serious financial concerns in the coming months as the district held its State of the Schools event on Tuesday.
District leaders have concerns about state funding, which is based on how many students enroll in the school district each year. They estimate that 3,000 fewer students will enroll for the upcoming school year. District officials say that could mean a $27 million budget cut in state funding, at a time when district finances are already hurting.
Superintendent of Orange County Public Schools Dr. Maria Vazquez was blunt during Tuesday’s State of the Schools speech. She told the audience that finances are tight.
“We have had to make some gut-wrenching decisions,” Vazquez said.
Declining enrollment led to a $23 million budget cut in state funding for the district this past school year. Vazquez says that even if the district loses millions more next year, no more schools will close during 2027 after the district shuttered six schools in late May.
“We would adjust the positions at the school to align with student enrollment. We are looking at ways to reduce the overhead costs, maybe by sharing some positions,” she said.
Vazquez added that the state’s new 2027 education budget does not fully fund the district’s needs.
“The dollars that we are scheduled to receive are not keeping up with inflation,” she said.
The school district also faces rapidly rising healthcare costs for employees. District leaders say if they do not make big changes next year, the district will face a $145 million shortfall in the health care trust fund.
“Our only path forward is to look at changes to our plan so that we are able to cover our expenses that come through with revenue,” she said.
Clinton McCracken is President of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, the teachers’ union. He says the district’s healthcare proposal raises premiums and deductibles so high that some teachers are leaving the district and the profession.
“When you combine the proposed less than one percent raise from the district with the increases to insurance that they’ve proposed, it would mean an average take-home pay cut of seven percent,” McCracken said.
District leaders are also strongly urging voters to renew the existing one-mil property tax this November. They say that revenue covers 10 percent of the district’s budget and supports 2,000 teaching jobs.