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 that mask the net funding local schools actually receive. “If the base student allocation was $108, it would allow for that,” Chambers said in describing the gap between the per-student increase and major cost drivers such as retirement and insurance.

Family Empowerment Scholarship: Chambers pressed the board to push for separating Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) funding from district operating budgets, saying FES now places disproportionate strain on district resources. He provided district-level figures from staff: current FES participants number in the low thousands (district staff cited about 3,253 participants), of whom roughly 1,930 reportedly have never attended Okaloosa County Schools; staff estimated those 1,930 students represent about $17,000,000 in state scholarship funding and that the total amount associated with FES-type allocations affecting the district would be about $27,000,000. Chambers said separating that funding stream at the state level (as the Florida Senate proposed in 2024) would more fairly reflect what the district actually has available to operate.

Textbook adoption and instructional materials: Chambers and finance staff warned the board that the district's textbook allocation (roughly $1.8 million for the district) will not meet projected costs for an upcoming ELA adoption. Staff described an expected adoption cost in the mid-single millions and said that, absent additional state funding or a slower adoption timeline, the district would have to shift several million dollars from general funds to cover required instructional materials.

School safety and mental-health investments: The superintendent urged full funding of the Safe Schools program and continued support for mobile response teams and board-certified behavior analysts. He said Okaloosa contributes roughly $4.25 million toward an $8.5 million total SRO program and that county contributions currently cover the remainder; he asked the board to include school-safety funding as a legislative priority.

Workforce and certification: Staff urged measures to ease certification burdens in hard-to-staff areas, including expanding allowable out-of-field assignments for highly effective teachers and considering waivers or reimbursement for teacher certification costs. They also proposed removing the six-month FRS waiting period for retirees returning to education work, mirroring similar exemptions offered in law enforcement.

Board reaction and next steps: Board members asked for clarifying data, raised concerns about accountability for scholarship funds and discussed political feasibility. Staff said FSBA will vote on a related motion in December; Chambers said the district will continue meeting with local legislators and provide the board with updates after the session. The superintendent and staff emphasized that any legislative ask will be detailed with supporting data to help legislators ‘‘run with it’’ and explained they will share anticipated budget impacts and potential district-level reductions if funding does not change.

Source and closing: The presentation was delivered at the board's workshop; staff and board members debated details and asked for further analysis. The superintendent said he hopes to return in December with more specific recommendations tied to the district's budget projections.

Quotes used in this article are attributed only to speakers listed in the meeting transcript.