- November 23, 2024
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Volusia County Schools’ student enrollment went down by 897 students in the 2023-2024 school year, a change the district’s chief financial officer called “concerning” when planning next year’s budget.
During a preliminary budget presentation to the School Board on Tuesday, June 25, CFO Todd Seis said that the district was initially counting on a 58,000 student enrollment count for the 2024-2025 school year. However, the district’s enrollment calculation found that enrollment went down to around 57,100 students by June 4, down from around 58,050 on July 19, 2023, meaning funds need to be repaid to the state.
As student enrollment in public schools went down, enrollment in charter schools increased from about 2,980 students on July 19, 2023, to about 3,560 on June 4.
If the district does not reach an enrollment of 58,000 students by next school year, Seis said, the current estimated $24.6 million slated to fund traditional and virtual programs will need to be distributed to other areas — teacher salary increases, the state-mandated Safe Schools and Mental Health Assistance Allocations, to name a few — as state funding dollars decrease overall.
“We want to hit that 58,000 number because I already appropriated all the funds,” Seis said.
School Board member Ruben Colon called the funding issue “the perfect storm.”
“Between the ESSER funding going away, continued unfunded mandates —which just keep coming — an attack on Home Rule like never before, attempts to make elections partisan, School Choice options that are choking public schools — which is the goal — attacks on labor unions, attacks on our students, property values go up, the legislature brings the millage down, so we’re not able to collect anything more yet we have to advertise that as a tax increase though the required local effort millage is going down,” Colon said. “A lot of folks ask, ‘Well, why are we doing the things that we’re doing, cutting back where we’re cutting back... The answer is because we saw this coming.”
Over the past four years, VCS used a portion of its $223.5 million of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, known as ESSER, for reoccurring costs. In 2022, the district projected this would result in a $50 million budget deficit by fiscal year 2026.
In April, VCS Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said cuts would be made at the school and district level for the 2024-2024 school year as a result, and as of Tuesday, Balgobin said 23 district personnel positions have been eliminated, and their duties redistributed. Six roles — including deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent and chief of human resources — have been reclassified, resulting in a “significant cost savings.”
Four district positions have been displaced due to the ending of grant dollars, and two construction project manager positions were merged into one specialist position.
This has resulted in $2.3 million in savings, Balgobin said.
“A strong public education will always be the great equalizer,” she said. “It’s why I do what I do. It’s why I will be resilient to our costs each and every day. It’s about kids.”
The school district’s general fund operating budget is mainly funded by the Florida Education Finance Program, which provides districts with funding on a per-student basis. Based on a 58,000 enrollment, Volusia’s FEFP funding was preliminarily projected to increase by $44.8 million, mostly due to base student funding, which is increasing by 3.72% this upcoming fiscal year.
The district’s millage rate will be advertised at a tentative 5.38 mills, or $5.38 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. The rate, while above rollback, is .54% less than last year’s rate of 5.409 mills.
To increase student enrollment, Chief Operating Officer Patty Corr said staff have collaborated on a “comprehensive communication strategy.”
“The strategy involves communicating to parents and highlighting the advantages and successes of all our programs across all of our schools and the exceptional dedication of our teachers and staff,” Corr said. “It reflects a unified message from our entire team, highlighting why Volusia County Public Schools is the best choice for children.”
