Board adopts fund-balance recovery plan after state funding shortfall and enrollment losses

The Alachua County School Board voted to receive a fund-balance recovery plan after district officials said the general fund had fallen under the board policy threshold, chiefly because of lower enrollment and higher-than-budgeted voucher payments.

Superintendent Patton presented the plan, saying the district’s fund-balance ratio is “at 4.41%,” below the board policy target of 5%. She described immediate corrective actions already underway: a hiring freeze, closing unfilled positions, department budget reductions, overtime restrictions to emergency-only, and position consolidations. The district also said it will use more conservative revenue forecasting for the next budget cycle.

Ms. Surdin and other board members traced much of the shortfall to state scholarship (voucher) payments and enrollment changes. Ms. Surdin explained that the district had anticipated losing $4 million under an earlier state calculation but instead lost $6.5 million when the state’s tally of family empowerment scholarships (vouchers) increased. She said the state later provided an additional $1.8 million to districts that were heavily impacted, reducing but not eliminating the district’s shortfall.

Superintendent Patton said the near-term plan assumes continued monitoring and monthly updates to the board. She said department staffing reviews will begin immediately and that central staff will return staffing allocations and revised projections during the budget process.

The board voted 4-0 to receive the fund-balance recovery plan. Board members stressed the need for clearer public information about how recurring and one-time dollars are used and urged better community education about budget categories such as capital, grant-restricted funds and…