Enrollment drops at Fla. public schools
Leaders urge state to keep funding the same
Enrollment in Florida’s public schools has dropped, and that could lead to a loss of state money even as school districts struggle to offer both online and on-campus classes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state’s teachers union, public school finance directors and other school leaders are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration — which already agreed to hold schools harmless in the fall — to do the same all school year.
That would mean funding public schools based on enrollment projections made in July, even if the fall and winter headcounts typically used to allocate state dollars show fewer students.
“I understand this is a heavy lift. This is a big ask,” said Angie Gallo, a member of the Orange County School Board, in an online press conference Friday organized by the Florida Education Association, the statewide union.
The pandemic has devastated Florida’s economy, Gallo said, but the state — with revenue projected to be down $3.4 billion — should still work to protect public education. “We just need to join together and do the best we can.”
Orange school leaders are already worried, as an enrollment count done a few weeks ago found at least 11,000 fewer students in Orange County Public Schools than expected. The Lake and Seminole county school districts also reported declines, with Lake’s enrollment down by about 3,000 and Seminole’s 1,000.
Both the Florida Education Association and the Florida School Finance Officers Association noted what they called a “significant” and “disturbing” drop in enrollment in many of Florida’s 67 districts. The reason for the drop isn’t clear, though union leaders suggested some parents, confused about whether their children should be on campus or studying online during the state’s COVID-19 crisis, made no choice at all.
If enrollment doesn’t return to projected levels, the resulting loss of funding would be “crippling” to public education, leading to layoffs and program cuts, and also harmful to the state’s economy as school districts are among the largest employers in many counties, the finance association said in a Tuesday letter to Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.
Orange Superintendent Barbara Jenkins, in a recently recorded message on social media, said school social workers and administrators were trying to track down students who haven’t shown up. The district had expected about 209,000 students.
Jenkins said she wanted to assure the public the school district was
“not on the brink of laying off large numbers of employees. ” But, she added, “Funding shortfalls may have an impact on school districts in the future, perhaps after the new year. But currently there will be no cuts.”
The state’s controversial school reopening order, which the union is battling the state over in court, required schools to open in August — the crux of the court fight and the controversy — but also based school funding through December on “pre- COVID -19” enrollment projections.
Even school leaders upset by the reopening mandate appreciated that effort to spare school districts financial hardship.
The union, in a letter sent Friday to DeSantis, asked him to extend that help through the end of the school year in June. It also asked that even if the state must slash its already approved budget, that it spare public education.
“If you’re going to commit to open the schools, you’re going to have to commit the resources,” said Dan Smith, president of the Seminole Education Association, the teachers union in Seminole County. “The funding has to come.”
Smith said teachers are struggling to manage classes that combine inperson and online classes and some, fearful of health risks, have resigned or taken leaves of absences, adding to the pressure on school districts that must keep classes staffed.
The Florida Department of Education said the union’s plea is a sign it should give up its lawsuit, as it is now asking for an extension of the same order it has been fighting against in court.
In an email, spokeswoman Taryn Fenske did not address whether state leaders might extend the order. But she said DeSantis has been a “strong advocate for education funding” and that he and Corcoran “will continue to be a champion of education in Florida.”
The finance leaders said the reopening order had provided helpful “financial guardrails” to Florida’s school districts this fall. Like the union, it wants them extended through June.
If that happens, the letter said, “You protect not only our finances but the classrooms we are attempting to keep open, COVID-19 free and available for those students who return.”
The statewide union blamed the state for the enrollment drop, saying its reopening order led to a “rushed opening” of campuses last month.
“This forced reopening created confusion and uncertainly leading to a significant number of students who are still unaccounted for,” said Andrew Spar, the union’s president.
Now, he added, “We need to have additional supports.”