- October 29, 2024
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Volusia County Schools had to return almost $5 million in state funds due to decreased enrollment numbers for the 2023-2024 school year.
As the district proceeds with planning its $1.2 billion budget for the upcoming academic year, School Board Chair Jamie Haynes said those funds could have helped with teacher and faculty salary increases.
"There are consequences sometimes to the actions that we choose to have," Haynes said at the board's meeting on Tuesday, July 30. "There is not a single state, district, county, area ... in this entire United States that is perfect, just as there's not a business out there that's perfect. Every day, there are great teachers here in Volusia County Schools teaching our kids."
The pandemic brought about "keyboard warriors," she said — people that are using social media to bash the district and administration. Haynes said she believes this has contributed to the student enrollment decline.
"What you're doing is you're actually saying to parents that are watching and listening, 'That's not where I should keep my child,'" Haynes said.
The school district ended the 2023-2024 school year with an enrollment of 57,172 students. Pre-pandemic, VCS had an enrollment county of about 64,000 students.
"Every child we lose to one of the other choices impacts our budget," Haynes said.
Though she said she supports school choice, she wants to make sure children who are homeschooled are prepared for the workforce.
"We have got to make sure that we don't have students that turn 18 and they can't read because somebody took the money," Haynes said.
Last year, parents and guardians received about $8,200 per child to homeschool their student, she said.
What do we know so far about the district's preliminary budget for the 2024-2025 school year?
The district is moving forward with a property tax rate of 5.285 mills — or $5.285 per $1,000 in taxable property value — which is less than last year's rate of 5.409. The reduction is largely a result of a decrease in the required local effort, the amount districts are required by law to contribute toward the Florida Education Finance Program.
But, the proposed millage rate is still a tax increase because it is 3.87% above the rollback rate, or the rate that would generate the same amount of tax revenues as last year’s millage rate.
The board will hold a public hearing to adopt the final millage rate and budget on Sept. 10.
