A sobering financial outlook presented at a school board workshop this week revealed a projected $23 million budget gap that will bring both cuts and structural changes to St. Johns County schools.
District leaders said the shortfall stems in part from lower-than-expected enrollment growth.
The current year’s budget was built on the projected 4 percent increase in students. Instead, growth reached just 1 percent between the August and fall enrollment counts — about 1,000 fewer students than anticipated.
Because state funding is largely allocated on a per-student basis, Superintendent Brennan Asplen told the board that the gap triggered an $8 million deficit for the current school year.
The district has received notice of the shortfall and has asked the state for forgiveness. Repayment is due June 30, and officials say they are still awaiting a response.
Looking ahead, administrators are projecting an additional $15 million funding gap for next school year, bringing the combined total to roughly $23 million.
To close that gap, the district has identified approximately $22 million in reductions and operational changes.
Among the most significant shifts: increasing average class sizes.
Officials estimate an average increase of two students per class, though the impact will vary by school and grade level. Rather than strictly capping each classroom at a specific number, the district plans to rely on schoolwide averages — meaning some classes could see larger increases than others.
Other steps include closing St. Johns Technical High School, removing portable classrooms, and cutting $30,000 in discretionary funds from every school.
Principals will determine how to absorb those reductions.
The district also plans to eliminate electives with fewer than 35 students enrolled and offer early retirement incentives. Leases on some administrative office spaces will not be renewed, with personnel relocated into existing school buildings to save money.
Complicating the district’s financial outlook is the continued expansion of Florida’s school voucher program.
Under the current funding model, public school dollars follow the student, meaning districts lose per-pupil funding when students opt for private schools or homeschooling through state-funded vouchers.
In St. Johns County, roughly 6,000 students now receive vouchers.
When the voucher program expanded in 2023, many students who had never been in public schools were added to the state funding system, spreading the same amount of money across more kids.
This means there’s less money available for each public school student, even though schools still have to pay for things like buses, buildings, teachers, meals, and special education services.
The presentation also outlined contingency measures if the financial picture worsens — whether due to lower-than-expected enrollment next year, additional voucher participation or changes in the final state budget.
Those possibilities include eliminating high school-level courses offered at middle schools, shifting secondary schools to six-period days, cutting school nurses, rezoning attendance boundaries districtwide, and potentially closing additional schools.
District leaders emphasized that several variables remain unsettled, including final action by the Legislature and actual enrollment numbers this fall.
Still, the breadth of the proposed reductions underscores the seriousness of the situation.
