Volusia County schools brace for tighter 2025–26 budget as enrollment and state funding pressures grow

Volusia County School Board members and district leaders spent more than two hours on a preliminary budget update Tuesday, describing a year of revenue uncertainty driven by lower-than-expected traditional student enrollment and late state funding calculations.

Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said the district “was able to save about $2,400,000 from our general fund to help protect our classrooms,” and described steps taken at the district level to limit classroom impacts. She added that the district is working to avoid cuts to direct classroom services while aligning staffing and programs with available revenues.

The presentation, led by Chief Financial Officer Todd Sees and district budget staff, walked the board through the district’s general operating fund and the mechanics of state funding. Sees said the district’s recurring expenditures for the general operating fund are approximately $588,100,000 and noted that the district’s unassigned fund balance is roughly $28,000,000 — an amount that covers “a little over half a month of projected recurring expenditures” at current spending rates. He said the board previously adopted a budget that included a planned spend-down of fund balance totaling $25,800,000, with $10,000,000 still…