Cape Coral charter school proposes $37.9 million 2026 budget; adds staff for high‑school enrollment growth

At a May 13, 2025 budget workshop at Cape Coral City Hall, Nicole Reitler, budget administrator for the City of Cape Coral, presented a proposed $37,919,009.40 operating budget for the city’s charter school system for fiscal year 2026. Reitler said the proposal is structurally balanced across all four schools and includes staff additions to accommodate 40 new high‑school students.

Reitler told board members, “My name is Nicole Reitler, and I am the budget administrator for the city.” She later summarized a central achievement of the cycle: “For the first time in a long time, all 4 schools are structurally balanced, from the elementary schools all the way up to the high school.”

Why it matters: the proposal represents a 7.81% increase over the 2025 adopted operating budget of $35,171,500 and relies in part on stepped increases in local capital funding (LCI) and public education capital outlay (PECO). The package also absorbs the city’s before‑and‑after care program into the charter school budget, adds buses and capital equipment, and builds modest pay increases and benefits adjustments into personnel costs.

Key figures and drivers

- Total proposed operating budget (2026): $37,919,009.40 (7.81% increase over 2025 adopted $35,171,500). - Enrollment context: fiscal 2025 adopted enrollment was 3,426 students; Reitler reported the high school will add 40 students for 2026. Future‑year projections were shown at about 3,466 for 2027–28. - LCI/PECO funding: combined LCI and PECO resources were shown at $4,800,000 for 2026; the presentation noted a $1,500,000 minimum annual lease payment to the City of Cape Coral taken from that allocation and an estimated $1,381,000 availability that would be transferred to the city for lease or additional capital maintenance after eligible expenses. - Capital items called out: purchase of two buses in 2026 at $314,000; computer equipment and Chromebook replacements; software and copier equipment ($120,000); a $20,000 basketball hoop motor replacement and $10,000 in kitchen warmers; a $561,000 placeholder for planned high‑school kitchen classroom renovations. - Recurring and major operating costs: textbooks $461,000; accounting and auditing (internal and external) $648,000; food services $864,000 (partially offset by lunch charges revenue); computer software and licensing nearly $700,000; computer equipment $523,000; fleet charges ~ $600,000; electric ~$809,000. - Revenue assumptions: the presentation used third‑quarter FEFP (Florida Education Finance Program) counts with a 2% projection in FEFP revenue and a 99% budgeting convention per the charter school financial policy. E‑rate reimbursements of roughly $345,000 over three years were identified for eligible IT purchases. Reitler said the budget does not pre‑budget federal or state grants (Title II, Title IV, TAPS, ESSER) and that those are added by amendment when awarded. - Personnel and staffing: total positions moved from about 364.25 in 2025 to 369 in 2026 (net +4 positions). Specific changes cited: Oasis Elementary North reclassified one paraprofessional to an ESOL coordinator; Oasis Elementary South added one food service worker; the middle school reduced three positions tied to a new six‑class schedule; the high school added three positions (two teachers and a security guard) and reclassified an assistant principal to a teacher to handle an additional ~40 students. Reitler said payroll projections include a 1% increase tied to the prior Evergreen compensation study and current FRS contribution rates (14.03%) and a 7% health‑insurance cost projection.

Discussion, next steps and administrative context

Board members asked follow‑up questions on the 99% budgeting practice, the predictability of LCI funding, and whether the before‑and‑after care transition and its staffing were fully budgeted. Reitler said the 99% convention remains the city’s recommended practice for the charter school and that the before‑and‑after care program staffing and start‑up purchases have been included in the 2026 projections. She said LCI receipts can vary with Lee County property valuations and that the city would adjust by budget amendment if receipts came in materially lower than projected.

Reitler said the final 2026 budget will be presented in June to the Charter School Authority Governing Board for approval and then incorporated into the City of Cape Coral public hearings for adoption in September 2025. There was no additional meeting date set during the workshop.

Votes and formal actions

The workshop concluded with a motion to adjourn. A motion and second were called and the meeting was closed on an affirmative voice vote. (Roll call earlier in the meeting recorded five members present.)

Ending

No public commenters spoke during the allotted citizens input period. After questions from board members, the presenter closed the workshop and staff will bring the proposed budget to the Charter School Authority Governing Board in June for formal consideration and to the City of Cape Coral public hearings in September 2025 for adoption.