Students return to classrooms in Orange County Public Schools on Tuesday, as the district tries to make ends meet while costs rise and enrollment declines by about 2,000 more students.
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At a back-to-school press conference at Lake Nona High School on Friday, Superintendent Maria Vazquez said fewer students could mean millions less in per-student state funding.
“Operational costs are increasing faster than revenue, and rising healthcare, along with a decline in student enrollment, has resulted in financial challenges for our district,” Vazquez said.
The district shuttered seven under-enrolled schools last school year because of enrollment drops but has no plans to close any other campuses this year, Vazquez said.
But the district will have about 17 assistant principals work at more than one elementary campus, with schools sharing the services of a single administrator. Art teachers, media specialists — teachers trained to run libraries — and other staff could also be splitting their time among different schools, though those placements had not been finalized as of Friday, she said.
Looking to save money, OCPS suggested hiking insurance costs for district teachers. That disrupted negotiations with its teachers union, which argued that the district’s proposed increases to premiums and deductibles would be tantamount to pay cuts for teachers.
The two sides are now at impasse as district says insurance costs, unchecked, are not financially sustainable.
Vazquez said the district is listening to the union’s alternatives to its proposals but there is no solution yet.
“Everything that’s been brought to us, we have looked into. Unfortunately, not all of their ideas yielded savings,” she said.
When the new school year starts, e-bikes and e-scooters will be banned from elementary and middle school campuses and only allowed at high schools if the student has a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit. The ban came as injuries stemming from the devices had spiked in the last few years — an OCPS student was struck and killed in May on an e-scooter in Lake Nona.
But the change is controversial, with some parents happy the district is taking a stance on safety and others frustrated the district is taking away a crucial form of transportation for many students.
The district won’t start enforcing the ban until at least Labor Day, Vazquez said, and district leaders will meet soon to decide how to enforce it. It will also re-evaluate the efficacy of the ban after the first nine weeks of the school year, she said.
At the press conference, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said police would be patrolling arrival and dismissal at schools to ensure students who were on electric devices were riding safely.
“Every year, we have at least one school crossing guard that is struck by a vehicle or an e-bike, so I just want everyone to drive carefully,” Mina said.
Despite these challenges, Teresa Jacobs, chair of the Orange County School Board, who is retiring at the end of her term this fall, said the district was still strong academically— achieving its third-consecutive A rating from the state this year.
“While it’s a little sad to know that this is our last back‑to‑school season together, it gives me great pride to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished,” she said
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