Teacher layoffs and, in the long run, more school closures are coming for Orange County Public Schools.
Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar said in his 32 years working in education, most of which has been in Central Florida, he’s only seen districts talk about layoffs, school closures, and sweeping position cuts on this scale once before: during the Great Recession.
Now, six weeks into the school year, nearly 100 Orange County Public Schools employees are facing possible layoffs as the district grapples with the financial squeeze of shrinking enrollment.
Another 114 instructional employees are being reassigned to different campuses based on enrollment and program needs.
The breakdown
The staffing changes follow an $8.5 million budget cut announced in a memo sent to employees earlier this month. The district said principals would receive updated staffing allocations based on enrollment as part of its annual “leveling” process, which adjusts staffing to match student counts.
That process is now resulting in employees being reassigned or, in some cases, left without a position.
OCPS is the eighth-largest school district in the nation, serving more than 170,000 students. But enrollment has fallen by nearly 8,000 students since May.
The district approved a $7.9 billion budget earlier this month. While the overall budget increased, funding for elementary schools dropped from about $738.3 million last year to $696.2 million this year, a decrease of nearly $42 million.
At the budget hearing, Superintendent Maria Vazquez said the largest enrollment losses were among VPK and elementary school students, the same areas where funding declined in the new budget.
OCPS spokesperson Michael Ollendorff said, in total, 212 instructional employees were identified for reassignment based on enrollment and program needs.
He said all teachers with a professional service contract or annual contract have been placed in instructional positions for the school year. But some probationary employees were displaced to accommodate annual contract teachers certified in the same area, as required by their contract and employment status guidelines.
That left 98 probationary teachers, most of them new hires, and with fewer than 20 vacancies available there won’t be a job for most of them.
Orange County School Board member Stephanie Vanos, who represents District 6, said the cuts are particularly discouraging for new teachers.
“It's devastating anytime you have to cut employees or people lose their job, especially in this economy,” she said. “Unfortunately the students provide the funding to pay the teacher almost directly, and so if you don't have the students in the school, you can't justify having the teacher in the school.”
Florida is near the bottom nationally when it comes to education spending. The National Education Association puts the state 41st in per-student spending, down two places from the previous year. Florida also ranks second to last, or 49th, for average teacher pay.
“We should lead the nation in innovation, in smaller class sizes, in making sure that our students have the kind of skill sets they need to compete in this ever-changing world, and for that to happen, we have to invest,” said Spar, the FEA president. “If Florida actually increased the funding by $1,000 per student for each of the next 7 years, we would be able to absorb some of the loss of units in a more realistic way without having to sacrifice the education students are receiving.”
Just a few years ago, Orange County Schools were facing a very different problem, which was not enough teachers.
And in 2026 the Florida Education Association said that districts had advertised 3,157 instructional vacancies statewide, hundreds more than at the same time last year. Including other education staff vacancies, the total was about 5,536.
The state’s own 2026-27 report also showed continued demand for teachers in areas including exceptional student education, math, English, science and English for speakers of other languages. The report found that about 17% of courses statewide were being taught by teachers who were not certified in the appropriate subject area.
Spar said that statewide shortage has not gone away, even as Orange County is cutting positions because of declining enrollment.
“Times are tough, but it's still a massive teacher and staff shortage in the state of Florida,” he said. “And so what I would encourage them to do is go next door to Seminole County, Osceola County, Lake County, or drive over to Volusia or Brevard County, where I think they'll find positions.”
He also said state mandates require districts to do more with fewer resources, while the expansion of school vouchers is putting additional financial pressure on public education.
“The education philosophy and approach from Tallahassee to our public schools has been to disinvest in our public schools, disadvantage Florida's public school students, and disrespect those who work in our public schools,” he said. “This didn't happen overnight.”
Inside the classrooms
The effects of the staffing changes are already being felt inside classrooms.
For some families, that has meant losing a teacher their child had already built a relationship with.
Sara Kristen Schulte has a daughter at an Orange County Public Schools elementary school. Four days ago, she got a call from her daughter’s principal.
“We got a call from the principal himself, and he was telling me he had some bad news and that she was no longer going to have her teacher and that none of the kids knew,” she said. “The parents were going to have to tell the kids over the weekend.”
The school followed up with a letter.
Schulte said she was shocked. Her daughter had just started getting comfortable with her teacher and classmates.
“It’s around the time of year where kids start really getting acclimated with their teachers and getting comfortable, and in third grade, it’s a lot of work,” she said. “Me and a whole bunch of other parents were just like crazy.”
Her daughter was separated from her friends and moved into another class, which she started this week.
Schulte said her daughter had already struggled with anxiety at the start of the school year, including getting sick on the way to school. She said her daughter had finally gotten comfortable with her teacher, and now she must adjust to another change.
“My daughter, she’ll adjust,” Schulte said. “My worry is every teacher.”
For students whose teachers were reassigned, Vanos said the district could divide them among other classes at the same school. That’s what happened to Schulte’s daughter.
The threshold for school closures
Vanos said the enrollment decline could have implications beyond this year's staffing changes.
She said the district could eventually consider consolidating schools with persistently low enrollment. Those decisions would take into account factors including current and projected enrollment, the age of a school building and the number of nearby schools.
According to the district, the threshold for a fully sustainable elementary school is above 65% capacity.
Right now, about 40 elementary schools are operating below 65% capacity. Two middle schools and three high schools are also below that mark.
Spar, the union president, underscored the impact of school closures.
“When you close that school, you rip out the heart of that community,”he said. “We shouldn't close our public schools because they are an essential fabric of every community and every economy.”
Here are the elementary schools below capacity, according to a Sept. 15 report from Orange County Public Schools:
For context, the district uses a Florida Department of Education measure called FISH, or Florida Inventory of School Houses, capacity. It represents the number of students a school building is designed to hold based on its available classroom space and other program needs. The percentage compares that capacity to the school’s actual enrollment.
- Azalea Park Elementary – 56.5% capacity
- Castle Creek Elementary - 59.8% capacity
- Camelot Elementary - 62.1% capacity
- Cheney Elementary - 65.8% capacity
- Dillard Street Elementary - 49.9% capacity
- Dover Shores Elementary - 57% capacity
- Dr. Philips Elementary - 63.8% capacity
- Forsyth Woods Elementary - 60.3% capacity
- Frangus Elementary - 58.5% capacity
- Innovation Elementary - 60% capacity
- John Young Elementary - 61.5% capacity
- Killarney Elementary - 54% capacity
- Lake Gem Elementary - 49% capacity
- Lake Silver Elementary - 48% capacity
- Lake Sybelia Elementary - 55.4% capacity
- Lawton Chiles Elementary - 60.2% capacity
- Metrowest Elementary - 48% capacity
- Mollie Ray Elementary - 53% capacity
- Oakshire Elementary - 61.2% capacity
- Pinar Elementary - 59.3% capacity
- Ridgewood Park Elementary - 58.4% capacity
- Riverside Elementary - 58.7% capacity
- Rock Lake Elementary - 62.7% capacity
- Sally Ride Elementary - 62.5% capacity
- Shingle Creek Elementary - 61.4% capacity
- Stone Lakes Elementary - 62% capacity
- Sun Blaze Elementary - 60.7% capacity
- Sunrise Elementary - 60.9% capacity
- Tangelo Park Elementary - 55.9% capacity
- Three Points Elementary - 54.4% capacity
- Union Park Elementary - 62% capacity
- Village Park Elementary - 62.6% capacity
- Vista Pointe Elementary - 61.3% capacity
- Waterbridge Elementary - 62.8% capacity
- Waterford Elementary - 58.6% capacity
- West Oaks Elementary - 63.5% capacity
