{"id":4389,"date":"2026-06-16T19:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389"},"modified":"2026-06-16T19:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:36:08","slug":"orange-expects-no-school-closures-next-year-despite-financial-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389","title":{"rendered":"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Orange County Public Schools, despite facing a financial crisis from declining enrollment and spiking insurance costs, doesn\u2019t expect to close any schools this coming school year, the district\u2019s superintendent said at a press conference Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Read more Circus catch dooms Winter Park as Eau Gallie wins UCF 7-on-7 tournament<\/a><\/p>\n

OCPS closed seven under-enrolled schools in May after losing thousands of students last year and expects thousands more to be gone in the upcoming school year.<\/p>\n

But Superintendent Maria Vazquez said she doesn\u2019t anticipate school closures in the\u00a02026-27 school year as OCPS takes a \u201cthoughtful pause\u201d to develop a long-term plan for under-unrolled schools.<\/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 Vazquez said.<\/p>\n

The district blames declining enrollment on low birthrates, lack of housing turnover, changes to federal immigration policy under the Trump administration, and the expansion of state-funded scholarships for private school education and homeschooling. The loss of students equates to a loss of millions of dollars in per-student funding \u2014 money the district needs as it faces shortfalls in its budget for insurance and teacher pay.<\/p>\n

This spring, the Florida Legislature granted public school districts a less than 1% increase in funding for the upcoming year, which isn\u2019t enough to counterbalance rising costs, Vazquez said. In order to cut back on spending, the district is taking steps to cut redundant programs and see where schools can share resources and personnel in order to save money, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do need more funding. We do need more students. But that can\u2019t be our only plan,\u201d Vazquez said.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s Tuesday press conference also focused on the importance of the one-mill tax referendum on November\u2019s general election ballot. Orange County School Board members urged county voters to continue supporting the tax, which represents $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value and raises about $230 million a year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The tax money pays for the salaries of about 1,200 teachers, 740 drama and music teachers, and 50 athletic coaches and trainers, according to district data, and also helps pay for extracurricular activities, athletics and field trips.<\/p>\n

Orange County voters have overwhelmingly approved the tax every four years since it was first on the ballot in 2010. The board in recent months has weighed asking voters for an additional .25 mills but ultimately felt it could be too risky given Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 property tax cut plan that will be on the same ballot. That measure would not impact school taxes but would create a $150,000 exemption for primary homes in 2027 and a $250,000 exemption in 2028, reducing homeowners\u2019 bill but also slashing money available for city and county budgets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot afford to risk losing the one mill. In the climate and environment we\u2019re in right now, it does not seem wise to ask for more,\u201d said Teresa Jacobs, chair of the Orange County School Board.<\/p>\n

Read more Osceola paves way for Canoe Creek, Sunbridge road projects totaling $412M<\/a><\/p>\n

Jacobs said the Florida Legislature has spent less and less of its budget on public education in recent years, which plays a role in Florida ranking 50th in the U.S. in teacher pay.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s outrageous, and it\u2019s surprising that we have the teachers that we have, given the financial circumstances,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

OCPS and its teacher union are currently at loggerheads over rising healthcare costs. But Vazquez said\u00a0both sides were engaging in \u201cgood faith\u201d negotiations to reach a settlement.<\/p>\n

OCPS proposed massive increases to healthcare premiums for teachers, fearing a $145 million budget shortfall if it did not make those hikes.<\/p>\n

In one of the health plans, for example, an OCPS teacher who insured a spouse or domestic partner would see the\u00a0per-paycheck costs rise from about $300 this year to $675 next year.\u00a0The deductibles, now at $300 for individuals and $600 for families, would jump to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families.<\/p>\n

OCPS has also proposed raises of less than 1%, so the higher health insurance costs would effectively mean a pay cut for many of its about 13,000 teachers.<\/p>\n

She said OCPS and the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association plan to meet with a magistrate July 9 and 10, who will hear arguments from sides.<\/p>\n

Clinton McCracken, president of the teachers union, was critical of the district\u2019s Tuesday press conference. McCracken, in a statement, said that OCPS hasn\u2019t been transparent with the union about whether all cost-saving options, including further administrative cuts at the district level, had been explored before passing rising costs onto employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore educators are asked to accept less, pay more, or do more, the district should be willing to show the community every option that has been explored and every decision that has been made,\u201d McCracken wrote.<\/p>\n

Read more Nomikai by Sushi Saint to open late summer on I-Drive<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orange County Public Schools, which shuttered seven schools this year, doesn’t expect to close any next year, despite declining enrollment and a budget shortfall, the superintendent said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOrange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orange County Public Schools, which shuttered seven schools this year, doesn't expect to close any next year, despite declining enrollment and a budget shortfall, the superintendent said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T19:36:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T19:36:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389\"},\"wordCount\":816,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389\",\"name\":\"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T19:36:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":648},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4389#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Orange County Public Schools, which shuttered seven schools this year, doesn't expect to close any next year, despite declining enrollment and a budget shortfall, the superintendent said.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T19:36:08+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis","datePublished":"2026-06-16T19:36:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389"},"wordCount":816,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp","articleSection":["Education","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389","name":"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-16T19:36:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2998847fe5d23a74bcb3e9cc5e118a9a.webp","width":1024,"height":648},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4389#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Orange expects no school closures next year, despite financial crisis"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}