ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County school leaders are wrestling with tight budgets, intense bargaining and declining enrollment. They’re working to tackle significant challenges ahead of the new school year.
District leaders expect enrollment to decline by another 3,000 students next year, and that could mean a $27 million budget cut. Their plans to address that include reducing overhead and sharing positions.
Life could be much different next year for some Orange County art, music and physical education teachers. Sharing special subject teachers is one move the district is exploring to offset the budget gap.
“They may have a teacher at the school two days a week and at the other schools another two days and alternating. It may be by week,” said Dr. Maria Vazquez, superintendent of Orange County Public Schools.
Carmen Hernandez says her daughter will move to a new school for 7th grade after Union Park Middle closed last month.
“As for the sharing positions, I think the kids are not going to get the full potential of the attention they deserve in their studies,” Hernandez said.
District leaders are also still at an impasse on a new contract with the teachers’ union. Both sides are scheduled to meet with a magistrate July 9 for discussions similar to mediation.
Teachers’ union President Clinton McCracken hopes the district will finalize a pay raise for teachers before school resumes and work to reduce their healthcare costs. He is urging district leaders to consider the union’s proposals.
“We have brought multiple solutions to the table and are encouraging the district team to consider all of these proposals that would end up saving money,” he said.
School Board Chair Teresa Jacobs says the healthcare trust fund faces a $145 million shortfall. One proposal would significantly increase premiums and deductibles for teachers for the coming school year.
“We’re spending a huge amount of money subsidizing healthcare. Our role is to pay, but we’re oversubsidizing,” Jacobs said.
The contract impasse for the coming school year is nothing new. The district was locked in a contract impasse for the 2025-2026 school year, and teachers ending up getting back pay.