Osceola presents draft 2026 general and capital budgets; public hearings set for July 29 and Sept. 9

Osceola County School District staff presented the draft 2025-26 general fund and five-year capital budgets at a June 24 workshop, noting the plan is informational and that no board action will be taken until required public hearings later this summer. "This is just a workshop today. No action is being taken on the budget for next year at this point," district staff member Sarah Graber said.

The presentation laid out projected district enrollment of about 84,955 full-time-equivalent students for next year — a 3.19% increase — and a draft ending general fund balance of roughly $84.2 million. Staff said they built a breakeven operating budget for 2025-26 that would hold fund balance near current levels (a financial-condition ratio of about 8.9% falling to about 8.67% under the draft), above the board’s 6% minimum and the state-required 3% minimum.

Why it matters: the draft ties staffing, program funding and capital work to state funding and local revenue forecasts. Staff emphasized that the budget depends on the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) conference report and on the property appraiser’s certified tax roll, both of which could change final numbers.

Key budget drivers and program changes

• State funding and FEFP: Staff said the district is using the FEFP conference report (awaiting the governor’s signature) and third-count enrollment data; the base student allocation was shown increasing by $41.62 (as presented). The district also reported a rise in dollars per FTE of about $153 (1.79%) in the conference report figures. Graber and other staff emphasized that a notable portion of new per-student funding is designated for Family Empowerment Scholarships and therefore is not discretionary at the district level.

• Enrollment mix: The staff packet showed growth across traditional schools (+480 FTE), charter schools (+~400 FTE) and the voucher/Family Empowerment program (+~1,500 FTE). Staff noted some charter growth reflects new charter openings and grade-by-grade starts.

• General fund composition and carryovers: The presentation showed carryover appropriations of about $34.8 million (committed but not yet expended goods and services that will roll into next year) and line-item detail showing salaries and benefits as the largest expense category when charter pass-throughs are included.

• Substitute staffing: The district plans to centralize substitute pay and to set school-level substitute budgets based on historical absence data, reserving separate provisions for extended leaves (FMLA and similar exceptions). Staff described the change as a cost-control measure; the approach would appropriate an average substitute allocation to schools and tighten requests for one-off substitutes.

• Categorical allocations: The draft includes a state mental-health allocation shown as $4.6 million new (about $3.6 million after the charter share), intended primarily for mental-health positions and some contracted services; staff said remaining carryover will be monitored midyear and reallocated if positions remain unfilled. The draft also shows state safe-schools funding (used for school resource officers) of roughly $6.5 million in new money (about $5 million after the charter share) plus an additional district supplemental safe-schools line of about $656,000 for programs beyond the state allocation. A $22,500 line for “Guardian” equipment was removed from the draft per board discussion.

Capital and five-year plan highlights

• Impact fees and capital revenue: The five-year capital plan presented forecasted roughly $71 million in impact-fee revenue and included sales tax and capital-outlay (ad-valorem) revenue assumptions provided with input from the business advisory board. Staff will begin the next impact-fee study next month; any rate changes would alter future revenue forecasts.

• Major projects: The capital plan funds completion of the new high school opening next August and shows three additional K–8 projects projected to open in 2027, 2028 and 2030. PM Wells renovation would receive an additional $4.5 million in the draft. Boggy Creek remains on hold. The district also identified $30 million for deferred maintenance (noted as insufficient to clear the backlog) and $5 million for cyclical capital needs.

• Technology and fleet: The draft includes continued funding for a student-computer leasing program with built-in repair/refresh costs and a technology cabling allocation of about $13.5 million. The bus-replacement program — previously funded at about $7.5 million per year — will be paused for one year, with staff saying the fleet condition allows the reprioritization for 2025-26.

• Transfers to general fund: The packet shows increased transfers from capital into the general fund (about $11.5 million noted) to reimburse operating salaries that are allowable to charge to capital under recent statutory changes (staff cited bus drivers as an example). Staff cautioned those transfers reduce capital available for other projects.

Process, timeline and next steps

Staff outlined the timeline used in the packet: the property appraiser will certify the tax roll July 1; the board will receive an all-funds budget presentation (informational) July 15; and the two required public hearings for tentative and final budget and millage are scheduled for July 29 and Sept. 9. Graber reiterated the workshop was informational and that staff will bring a full all-funds budget back next month for further review.

Discussion highlights and board comments

Board members and staff asked detailed questions about specific line items and contracts (for example, math-instruction contracts with Valencia, OPS contracts for choice-hub supervision, and details of the student computer lease). One board member, Paula, praised the superintendent’s role in shepherding the difficult choices this year: "I do need to give our wonderful superintendent a ton of credit," Paula said.

No board votes or formal actions occurred at the workshop; staff repeatedly noted the figures are preliminary and subject to state and local adjustments.

Ending

District staff said they will provide more detailed lists of planned capital expenditures and carryover projects as the budget moves toward the July and September hearings. The board took no action at the June 24 workshop; public hearings remain the opportunities for formal comment and final adoption.