Board reviews draft 2025'26 staffing plan; fingerprint mandate, psychologists and Lake Tech funding highlighted

Lake County School District administrators presented a workshop draft of the 2025-26 district-level staffing plan on June 16, proposing a mix of deletions, reclassifications and funding shifts intended to reduce general-fund pressure while preserving services.

The plan, introduced by Mr. Farnsworth and Mr. Zamora, includes consolidations in central offices, targeted reductions in maintenance and regional program specialist allocations, reassignments of some positions to other funding sources (Title I, millage, capital transfers) and new hires in priority areas such as IT construction-logistics. Superintendent and department leaders described the package as an effort to share staffing adjustments across the district rather than concentrate reductions at school sites.

Why it matters: The staffing plan aims to cut approximately $2.0 million from the general fund and about $2.75 million across all funding sources. The board's discussion touched on operational risks, service continuity for students with special needs, and an upcoming state fingerprinting mandate for school employees that the district estimates could cost roughly $500,000 to implement over two years.

Fingerprinting mandate and staffing for screening District leaders said a new state fingerprinting requirement will be managed through a central clearinghouse now overseen by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA); previously fingerprinting had been handled through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Mr. Zamora said the district plans an initial, phased rollout to fingerprint employees with the oldest records first and estimated a projected total cost over two years of about $500,000 to fingerprint roughly 5,500 employees. He said the district will purchase portable equipment to perform on-site fingerprinting at multiple locations, such as bus lots, to complete the initial screening. "The ones that have the oldest fingerprints on record are the ones that are going to be fingerprint first," Zamora said.

Psychologists, interns and contracted services The draft reduces several vacant psychologist allocations; administrators said four psychologist slots were listed as vacancies and that the district currently operates with about 20 psychologists and additional interns. During debate board members pressed for retaining at least one funded psychologist slot to preserve the option of hiring if a qualified candidate appears. The board reached agreement to hold one psychologist position (rather than eliminate all four) and to rely on a mix of current staff, interns and contracted providers to cover evaluations and services in the near term. District staff said contracted psychological services remain available and that budgeted salary allocations can be moved to professional-services lines if contracting becomes necessary.

Maintenance, facilities and FMX work-order tracking Administrators described reductions and reclassifications in facilities and grounds positions, and said the district now uses FMX as its work-order tracking system. Facilities leadership said FMX provides progress tracking from work-order intake through parts reconciliation and closing, and contrasted plans to contract specialized trades work with retaining in-house skilled staff for ongoing maintenance. The district said it is planning a long-term capital-planning effort and may bring in a third party to inventory major capital equipment and schedule preventive maintenance.

School programs and alternative education The plan eliminates one position supporting jail- or court-involved students and proposes continued use of contracted virtual instruction (Edgenuity) and liaison support to meet those students' instruction and ESE needs instead of hiring a full-time district position. The presentation also described staffing shifts in teaching, learning and leadership, college and career readiness, and regional program specialist roles; some reallocations were funded from federal programs (Title I, Title II, Title IV) or millage rather than the general fund.

Budget context and Lake Tech appropriation Administrators said the district has seen a small funding increase in conference reports they reviewed but also noted major shifts in appropriation language. Superintendent and staff highlighted an item in the state conference report allocating $4.9 million for Lake Tech at Lincoln Park; staff cautioned that the conference report had not yet been finalized or enacted and could be vetoed. The superintendent said site renovations have already begun for Lincoln Park and that the district and Lake Tech are pursuing grants and other funding to support further work.

Board direction and next steps Board members asked for continued monitoring of service continuity (particularly for special-education and mental-health services) and requested that administrators return to the board if staffing needs change so allocations can be restored. On the psychologists, the board agreed to hold one position as a placeholder and to use contracted services and interns as needed. Mr. Zamora said communication to staff about fingerprinting will start soon and that initial phases will prioritize older records.

No formal votes were recorded on the staffing plan at the workshop; administrators said the draft will be forwarded to the district's regular meeting schedule for final action.