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Credit: McKenna Schueler<\/p>\nCredit: McKenna Schueler<\/p>\n
Just a few years ago, Florida\u2019s public schools were facing massive teacher shortages \u2014 we\u2019re talking thousands of vacancies<\/a> statewide \u2014 due to factors such as uncompetitive pay<\/a>, poor student behavior, and generally low morale due to state censorship efforts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, nearly 100 teachers in Orange County Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, may be out of a job in the coming weeks as the district continues to grapple with the economic fallout of declining student enrollment.<\/p>\n \u201cDistrict staff are working directly with these employees and will provide them with available vacancy information and opportunities for reassignment where possible,\u201d OCPS district spokesperson Michael Ollendorff told Orlando Weekly in a statement.<\/p>\n Student enrollment is down 8,000 students in Orange County\u2019s public school system, compared to the previous school year, according to the Orlando Sentinel<\/a>.\u00a0The district recently slashed a whopping $400 million<\/a> from its budget to help weather expected funding woes ahead.<\/p>\n The loss of students, mostly affecting elementary schools, has been attributed by district staff to declining birth rates, increased competition from private schools \u2014 thanks to Florida\u2019s taxpayer-funded school voucher program \u2014 and heightened federal immigration enforcement activity under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing everything possible to ensure public schools remain strong, competitive, and responsive to the needs of our students and families, both today and years ahead,\u201d said OCPS superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez, speaking at a press conference in mid-June.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vazquez, who\u2019s paid an annual salary of more than $350,000, recently announced she will be retiring herself<\/a> at the end of the school year. \u201cServing this community has been one of the greatest honors of my life,\u201d Vazquez shared in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply grateful for the privilege of working alongside extraordinary employees, supportive families, dedicated community partners, and inspiring students. While I look forward to the next chapter, I remain fully committed to making this final school year one of our very best.\u201d <\/p>\n Orange County Classroom Teachers Association president Clinton McCracken, a former art teacher who now leads the local teachers union of more than 13,000 members, is calling for the Orange County School Board to intervene and demand Vazquez look at other areas of spending before cutting teachers\u2019 jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the Board allows educators working directly with students to lose their livelihoods, it should demand that the superintendent demonstrate that the same level of sacrifice has reached the district level structure and the people making these decisions, \u201d McCracken told Orlando Weekly in a text.<\/p>\n \u201cBudgets reveal priorities, and right now 98 educators and their families are being asked to pay the price for decisions they did not make.\u201d <\/p>\n At roughly $50,000 per teacher, he added, the district\u2019s savings would be about $4.9 million in salaries \u2014 or, as he described it, \u201croughly the equivalent of 33 district-level positions earning $150,000 a year.\u201d<\/p>\n Budget woes<\/p>\n According to Ollendorff, 212 OCPS teachers are being reassigned \u201cbased on enrollment and program needs,\u201d and 98 of those \u2014 all probationary employees, or new hires \u2014 aren\u2019t \u201ccurrently\u201d assigned to a new position, meaning they\u2019ll likely be out of a job.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district remains committed to supporting affected employees throughout this process while ensuring that all classrooms are staffed with appropriately certified educators and that students continue to receive high-quality instruction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Other school districts across Florida are similarly dealing with budget constraints<\/a> tied to declining student enrollment. School funding from the state is paid out to districts per-pupil \u2014 meaning, fewer students equals less funding. Forty-six percent of OCPS\u2019s total operating revenue comes from the state, while 54 percent of that comes from local revenue sources.<\/p>\n The Orange County School Board, overseeing district operations, already made the difficult decision to close seven schools in the district last school year. And although Vazquez previously said \u2014 as recently as earlier this summer \u2014 that no additional closures were expected, she\u2019s already reportedly walked that back.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that we will have to start having conversations around additional school closures,\u201d Vazquez told WESH 2 News<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n Going private<\/p>\n The decimation of Florida\u2019s public school system comes as Republicans in power \u2014 both on a state and national level \u2014 continue to advance a\u00a0school privatization scheme, driven by the state\u2019s under-regulated<\/a> student voucher program.<\/p>\n Student vouchers awarded through the taxpayer-funded program allow parents to use $8,000 annually<\/a> on average toward private school tuition (if the school will accept them<\/a>) or to homeschool.<\/p>\n Under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has expanded the program in recent years by lifting the annual cap on students who can receive vouchers, gutting income eligibility requirements, and ultimately redirecting billions of dollars<\/a> from public school districts annually.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to ProPublica, more than a half-million students<\/a> in Florida \u2014 roughly 1 in 6 \u2014 use a state voucher for schooling as of September 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n Data from Step Up for Students, the organization that primarily runs Florida\u2019s voucher program, found<\/a> that 69 percent of voucher recipients were already attending private school before they received their voucher, following the program\u2019s expansion in 2023.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tThe results leave UCF fifth among the eight ranked Florida public universities\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Stay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790422719_636_OW_JoinNewsletter_970x250_1.jpg\")
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