Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Brevard reports early growth in school‑choice scholarship program, proposes modest athletics fees for voucher students
Loading...
Summary
District staff said the scholarship program served 78 students this year and generated about $149,000 in program income to date; staff recommended adding a transportation piece to the catalog and charging scholarship/voucher students modest fees for athletics and interventions, citing pending state guidance (SB 538).
Ms. Harris and Dr. Mayer updated the board on the district’s school‑choice scholarship work, describing vendor setup, a course catalog and early enrollment and financial results. Dr. Mayer said the program served 78 students this school year and that revenue from course enrollments had accumulated to about $122,000 as of mid‑February and $149,000 by the meeting date; staff described that income as program revenue used to pay teachers and program costs rather than private profit.
Dr. Mayer told the board the catalog includes elementary and secondary courses, AP and IB options, and added interventions and a transportation component for next year. He also explained proposed extracurricular pricing in light of Senate Bill 538 guidance: proposed charges of $250 per sport per year for high school and $125 per sport per year for middle school would apply only to students using certain scholarship categories, not to fully enrolled district students.
Board members praised rapid growth from an initial enrollment in the 20s to the current roster and approved direction for staff to place the updated course catalog and the proposed contract (with a transportation component) on a future board agenda for formal approval.
Next steps: staff will place the catalog and contract amendment on a future business agenda, finalize registration and transportation language, and begin targeted outreach and promotion to expand participation.
