Declining enrollment and growth in Family Empowerment Scholarships shift $71 million in funding on Pasco budget

Tammy and the district finance team told the Pasco County School Board that the district anticipates a decline of 683 students in total enrollment and that Family Empowerment Scholarships (FES) enrollment is expected to grow by 1,645 students this year. Charter school enrollment is projected to increase by 661 students. Tammy said FES shows in the district budget as if the dollars are received by the district, but that in practice the district does not receive FES funds for distribution; she said the amount included in the budget is roughly $71,000,000 for the year. She described that mechanism as creating difficulty in projecting usable revenues and reserves during budget balancing. Staff reported that the district accounts for approximately 79% of total students (district-run schools), 11% charter, and 10% FES under these projections. Three new charters were named during the workshop: Imagine Trinity and two Pine Crest campuses (including a middle school identified as "Pine Crest Connorton Middle School" in presentation notes). Tammy said the state did not budget sufficiently for FES growth and the district received an approximate $6,900,000 proration in the third funding calculation for the prior year; an additional $1,500,000 was still outstanding at the time of the workshop. Staff said the Florida Department of Education is now required to track certain FES students and that the district does not currently have to track them itself, though enrollment overlap and proration issues continue to affect statewide allocations. Board members discussed the district's practice of setting aside reserve funds to absorb proration and other funding volatility. Tammy said the district will continue to monitor the third calculation and adjust allocations and reserves as needed; she also noted there are typically adjustments in the district's third calculation that can change final funding available to schools.