Nassau staff to advertise tentative budget after cuts, staff say

District staff told the Nassau County School Board at a budget workshop that they will advertise a tentative budget at a 5:30 p.m. special meeting after making reductions across schools and departments driven by lower enrollment and reduced state funding.

School finance staff said the district initially reduced 35 positions and has since restored roughly nine instructional positions and six paraprofessional positions as enrollment data and staffing alignments were updated. Staff said no current employee lost a job as a result of the adjustments; vacancies and resignations were used to realign staffing.

The adjustments come amid a mix of funding changes, staff said. Federal funds that had been frozen were reported to be partially released, but the district had not yet received a full update on categorical allocations (Title I–V) for the 2025–26 cycle and expected more information in October. Staff reported a shortfall in a recent state payment of roughly $157,000 and said the state’s FEFP (Florida Education Finance Program) adjustments reduced the district’s funding by several million dollars compared with prior estimates.

Staff described local property-tax revenue as making up an increasing share of the district’s revenue picture. At different points during the workshop staff cited the local share as more than half of projected revenue (one reference put local funding at roughly 56 percent; a later comparison presented local revenue as about two-thirds of the district’s estimated revenues). Staff attributed the change to rising property values and state funding declines.

Staff reviewed program- and school-level reductions shown on a budget-control sheet and said those reductions will be advertised as the tentative budget; they noted the advertised budget can still be adjusted while it is out for public notice. The district’s contingency (unassigned fund balance) was reported to be about $620,000 shy of a 3 percent target at the time of the workshop.

Capital projects and uses: staff presented a list of capital projects grouped as districtwide or school-specific. A districtwide pivot-table summary showed roughly $70 million in districtwide project totals, with a placeholder amount identified for a new school (staff said the $3 million figure shown came from impact-fee revenue and is an estimate). Staff cautioned there is not yet a final plan for a new school and that advertised projects can be left unused if not needed, but projects must be advertised to be eligible for later spending.

Portables and facilities: staff said some portables were replaced over the summer and three portables were added (two at one site and one at another); staff said portable costs are charged to impact fees. Specific capital projects mentioned by name in the list included work tied to Wildlight, Yulee Elementary (parent pickup area), Callahan Middle and other school sites; staff said some previously advertised projects remain in unspent prior-year funds and can be moved forward without a new advertisement.

Other items: staff noted a new categorical the state labeled “academic acceleration” (for AP, CAPE, early graduation and dual enrollment) and said some allocations were moved into that category from prior categorizations such as CTE add-ons. Staff said ROTC federal funding was not frozen and that the district is now receiving ROTC payments on a 12-month schedule.

Next steps: staff said they would advertise the tentative budget at the 5:30 special meeting, continue making adjustments while the budget is on public notice, and then take further action in subsequent meetings. The workshop was closed and the board planned to convene the special meeting to proceed with the advertised budget work.