Okaloosa superintendent lays out 2025-26 legislative priorities, urges separation of scholarship funding

Superintendent Chambers told the Okaloosa County School Board that the district is preparing for “a very challenging budget” and asked the board to back a set of legislative priorities aimed at stabilizing school finances and protecting classroom resources. Chambers said districts received a per-student BSA (base student allocation) increase of roughly $41.62 but that retirement, insurance and even a modest pay raise quickly outstrip that amount.

Chambers identified five priority areas: education funding and resource allocation (including adjustments to the BSA), school safety, student support services and mental health, administrative efficiency (formerly described as “deregulation”) and workforce recruitment and retention. He said the district will work with Oak Strategies and local legislators, including Senator Gates, Senator Trumbull and Representative Mainie, to press the case in Tallahassee.

Why it matters: The superintendent argued that current funding formulas do not reflect the true cost of delivering instruction. Chambers emphasized that certain state-funded programs now flow through the FEFP and categoricals in ways…