LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake County Schools says they’re going to be $35 million short due to the financial impact of this school year and next year combined.
According to a statement from the administration, the district is expected to lose around 1,500 students next year.
They said it’s partially because of the drop in birth rates in Lake County and the rise in private school vouchers.
Elisabeth Emery with the Lake County Education Association explains, “There is data on how much each school district is impacted by the voucher, and I know for Lake County Public Schools, about $50 million was indicated on that DOE report.”
This comes at a time when many teachers are pushing for higher pay, including Umatilla Middle School Teacher Melinda Tice, who spoke at last week’s school board meeting.
“I know in a lot of ways your hands are tied. At one point, do I quit a job that I really love just so I can see better raises and a better work-life balance?” she said.
Emery said teachers also need better benefits and more manageable workloads.
“I want folks like me to stay in our public schools and not go to other fields or leave the district, and I also want my future students to be able to have meaningful educators. We gotta make sure that we’re creating systems to do that,” says Emery.
The district states that funding for each student costs around $8,000, which means they will lose $12 million overall next year. They also say they will lose $8 million in revenue funding and that the state legislature has done little to boost that funding.
“Now, we’re very much in a waiting game because the state has not finalized their budget. There are a lot of questions about what our funding will really look like. The reports we’re getting back from the (Florida) House say there’s going to be a significant impact in funding,” said Emery.
The district adds that the extra money going toward the district’s contribution to their employees’ healthcare plan is also a factor putting them in the red.