Orange County Public Schools is concerned about relying on voters to renew a special property tax and plans to borrow against future tax revenue as it moves forward with a nearly $7.9 billion budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, an overall increase of about $500 million from last year.
However, the budget includes cuts to elementary and middle school education. This comes after the district reported losing nearly 8,000 students resulting in a loss of $8.5 million dollars.
The budget passed Tuesday after a public hearing during which teachers, community members and board members raised concerns about teacher pay, class sizes, insurance costs, vouchers and how the district is managing its money.
The shortfalls
For the district’s 10-day enrollment count, Superintendent Maria Vazquez said the biggest declines are among VPK and elementary school students.
After a memo sent last week about the $8.5 million in budget cuts, OCPS officials said principals are receiving updated staffing allocations based on enrollment. They are reviewing which positions are vacant and which are filled as the district goes through its annual “leveling” process, which adjusts staffing based on student counts.
“It is a very difficult time for us,” Vazquez said.
The enrollment changes are reflected in the district’s operating budget. Funding for elementary schools dropped from about $738.3 million last year to $696.2 million this year, a decrease of nearly $42 million. Middle school funding fell by about $16 million.
High school funding, however, increased by about $7 million.
OCPS has about 170,000 students enrolled across its schools, according to the district’s 10-day count. That includes more than 66,000 students in elementary schools and VPK, about 35,000 middle school students and roughly 58,000 high school students, along with students in alternative schools and K-8 programs.
The district is also budgeting about $244 million this year for Family Empowerment Scholarships, Florida’s state-funded private-school voucher program. That is about $33 million more than the district budgeted last year, and students who use vouchers shift their state education funding from the public school system to a participating private school.
Vazquez said the growth in scholarship use, along with declining enrollment, is putting additional pressure on the district’s budget.
“The enrollment is having a significant impact,” she said. “I don't see that the situation with the scholarship dollars is going to be minimized.”
She said OCPS had not significantly adjusted staffing at the district level despite losing several thousand students over the past few years. This budget cycle, the district began making those adjustments, although some of the positions being eliminated were already vacant.
Clinton McCracken, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, said teachers are feeling the effects of the district’s financial decisions.
“We have never asked to be able to have the ability to have people come up here and make a bargaining proposal at this podium, but these teachers are experiencing the impact of everything that was just talked about here over and over and over again,” McCracken said.
He said the district should look for additional savings farther away from classrooms.
“When school positions disappear, students’ needs do not,” McCracken said. “We hear about state funding, vouchers, enrollment, even birth rates. Those challenges are real, but where is the self-accountability from the people in this room?”
“Budgets reveal priorities. If students truly come first, start looking for savings farthest from those students,” he said.
Budget breakdown and concerns
The biggest increase is in the Capital Projects Fund, which increased by $230.5 million more this year, totaling $3.97 billion.
The fund pays for construction and major renovations. About 56% of that money is going toward schools built before 2003, including renovations based on the age of buildings and projects to repurpose existing schools.
The district has new schools opening, but amid declining enrollment, officials are pausing plans to open additional schools for the next five years. Ovation Elementary and Innovation Elementary are the only two new schools currently slated to open.
Board member Alicia Farrant raised concerns about the district’s construction plans.
“Only opening two schools in 10 years is wild,” she said.
The district’s General Fund totals about $2.95 billion, an increase of $129.2 million from last fiscal year.
That fund pays for the district’s day-to-day operations, including teacher salaries, transportation, maintenance and administration.
Board member Stephanie Vanos said the enrollment numbers raise questions about what’s changing in the district and why.
“We need to look at all of the reasons we see declining enrollment,” she said.
Declining enrollment and school funding can also affect what happens inside classrooms, Vanos said. It’s also true that when schools don’t have the funding they need, they don't have as many people in schools and class sizes increase and teachers’ workload increases.”
Members of the community also raised that issue during the public hearing.
Anatomy and physiology teacher Asma Almani told the board she is hearing serious concerns from her colleagues.
“I cannot describe the gravity of the situations that my colleagues are expressing to me at work,” she said.
Almani said OCPS is losing “great” teachers and described her own classroom as packed with as many as 39 students. She said she relies on donations to cover classroom needs.
“I have to go ask for donations., I have to go beg for money,” she said. “Put your money where your mouths are, because words don’t pay bills or medical care or things that are needed in the classroom.”
Insurance is another growing cost
The district’s Internal Service Fund is about $448.3 million, up $35.2 million from last year.
That fund covers employee health insurance, property and casualty losses and printing services.
Health insurance is a major challenge –- and a point of contention – for the district.
OCPS said it is spending about $20 million a month because it has not yet made a decision about changes to its health insurance plan. District officials also said contributions toward employee health coverage are not keeping pace with the cost of claims.
“We have an insurance issue,” Farrant said. “I would love to look into our policy to allow people to discuss things.”
Vazquez said that the district has looked “under so many rocks” for money.
“We have evaluated different plans, we've looked at different structures,” she said. “There is no way around it, we are in a deficit when it comes to insurance.”
The district’s Special Revenue Fund is about $341.4 million, up roughly $1.2 million from last year.
That fund includes federal categorical grants, donations, food service, extended-day programs and school internal accounts.
Through that fund during the 2026-27 school year, all OCPS students will receive free meals regardless of income.
But Superintendent Maria Vazquez said this will be the last year for that arrangement.
She said the district is working on a plan to return to an application process. Some schools will still qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Provision, while others will not. District officials said eligibility will be based on the number of families at each school who qualify for assistance.
Debt and short-term borrowing
The Debt Service Fund pays the principal and interest on money the district has borrowed. It totals about $202.3 million, which is down about $21.5 million from last year.
OCPS is also preparing to make a fiscal move it hasn’t made since in the Great Recession of 2008. It will borrow money through Tax Anticipation Notes, or TANs.
The district plans to authorize up to $250 million in short-term borrowing to help with cash flow before it receives most of its property tax revenue. About half of the district’s funding comes from property taxes.
Board members questioned whether the borrowing is a sign of a larger financial problem.
Member Maria Salamanca said the idea makes her uncomfortable.
“It makes me super anxious to have anything like this,” she said. “It’s like a credit line on day-to-day expenses.”
Millage and teacher pay
Orange County voters will decide in November whether to renew a special property tax expected to bring in about $255.2 million for the 2026-27 school year.
According to OCPS, the funds will help protect teacher compensation, academic programs, fine arts and athletics across the district.
Board member Angie Gallo said OCPS is “way too reliant on that millage right now,” and that losing that revenue in the coming years could have a major impact on the district.
Superintendent Maria Vazquez said about 10% of the district’s operating budget is tied to the millage, and 99% of the tax revenue is connected to recurring salaries or teaching positions.
“If that were eliminated that would be catastrophic to our district,” Vazquez said.
The final budget now sets OCPS’ spending plan for the 2026-27 fiscal year as the district works to balance fewer students with higher costs for salaries, insurance, safety and other services.
