Orange County school leaders warn of tightened budget as state delay stalls funding

Orange County Public Schools’ leadership told the school board on May 20 that a delayed state budget and several known cost pressures leave the district planning for significantly tighter operating resources in fiscal 2026.

At a board work session billed as the annual “board budget priorities” meeting, Chief Financial Officer Doreen Concolino said, “due to the delay in the legislature finalizing the state budget the board budget priorities work session will look a bit different this year than in prior years.” The district expects an uncertain Base Student Allocation and other state categorical changes that will affect local planning.

The nut graf: The delay in Tallahassee’s budget-setting process, differing House and Senate proposals on teacher-pay funding, rising employer Florida Retirement System (FRS) rates and shrinking traditional-school enrollment are combining to make the 2025–26 operating budget highly constrained. District leaders said they will prioritize teacher and staff funding while trimming nonessential items.

District staff told board members they cannot yet rely on final state numbers. Concolino highlighted varying proposals for teacher salary funding: “For fiscal year 2026, currently there are differing dollar amounts appropriated for salary increases for full time instructional personnel. The House is proposing .53% of the district’s base funding for teacher salary increases and the Senate is proposing 1.49%.” She also warned that changes to employer-paid FRS rates are “anticipated to cost the district between 4,900,000.0 to $5,200,000 to all funds.”

Board members were shown three-year categorical-spending reviews that, according to staff, reveal many program budgets have been folded into the FEFP Base Student Allocation (BSA), reducing transparency about whether those functions are being fully funded. Concolino said that with the end of federal ESSER funds and declining enrollment, “underfunded mandates are being offset by general operating dollars that could otherwise be used for salary increases.”

The district listed planned and already adopted reductions to prepare for limited revenue: a 2% operating cut across departments (about $5.3 million), elimination of 12 vacant positions funded through mental-health assistance dollars (about $1 million), a $3.5 million reduction in supplemental instructional materials purchases and an estimated $7.5 million reduction in summer-school costs. Concolino also noted a one-time textbook savings of about $20 million tied to a delayed ELA adoption.

Board members repeatedly emphasized prioritizing people over programs. Member Byrd said her “biggest priority is for us to... make sure that we have teachers in the classroom teaching the kids.” Others asked staff to prepare scenarios showing how different state outcomes (smaller or larger BSA increases, different categorical treatments) would translate into cuts or reallocations at the district level.

District staff said they will produce fiscal scenarios for the board and warned that some obligations are inflexible. Concolino reminded the board that the Truth in Millage (TRIM) calendar and other local tax deadlines still apply despite the state delay, and she reiterated the district’s plan to maintain contingency fund balances to respond to unanticipated changes.

Board direction and next steps included requests for: scenario planning tied to multiple state budget outcomes; a clearer list of what the district is required to fund vs. what is discretionary; and staff analysis of potential trade-offs between operational and capital options (including the district’s existing half-penny capital-sales-tax renewal) should the board consider shifting funding sources.

The meeting was a work session; no votes or formal board actions were taken.