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Palm Beach district CFO outlines $66 million shortfall, 583 school-site positions eliminated after enrollment drop
Summary
CFO Heather Frederick told the board the district lost 7,000 students from FY25 to FY26 (10,000 over two years), producing a ~$66M FY26 shortfall; combined actions cut 583 school-site positions and departments absorbed $17.8M in reductions, leaving a net starting deficit for FY27.
The Palm Beach County School Districtchief financial officer briefed the School Board on the budget effects of a sharp enrollment decline and the districtresponse to balance the fiscal year.
CFO Heather Frederick said the district lost 7,000 students from FY25 to FY26 and expects an additional nearly 3,000 fewer students from FY26 to FY27, totaling about 10,000 fewer students over two years and an estimated revenue loss of more than $100 million across that span. "We were facing a $66,000,000 shortfall in f y 26 as a result of the over loss of over 7,000 students," Frederick said.
Frederick described two rounds of reductions: initial adjustments around the eleventh day of school saved about $20 million, and combined with a second round (including a 3.5% recurring increase approved by the board that added $28 million to the financial objective) the net result required additional cuts. Across combined rounds, the district eliminated 583 school-site positions (about 3.4% of roughly 17,000 school-based positions) and eliminated 47 department positions (5.3% of departmental positions). Departments cut $17,800,000 in total.
Frederick said most of the general fund is salaries and benefits (over 80% of spending), with 90% of that directed at school sites. She warned that when reductions are required they will affect school staffing and that a net starting deficit of $9.3 million remains for FY27, even accounting for a $10.7 million one-time appropriation and a small per-student state increase.
Board members asked detailed questions about per-student allocation and reserve funds. Frederick explained that the statewide base student allocation increased by $85 but Palm Beach's share equated to roughly $63.46 after a comparable-wage-factor adjustment; the district expects a $400,000 net increase in county funding, with $9.8 million required to be set aside for TSIA. She also outlined four reserve "buckets": restricted/nonspendable, funds set aside for specific purposes, board contingency, and unassigned amounts.
Superintendent Michael Burke and board members discussed adding a request for legislative flexibility on state adoption cycles and the cost burden of frequent instructional-material adoptions. The board did not take new budget action at the workshop; Frederick said the tentative budget adoption is set for July 29 and final adoption on Sept. 9, with the eleventh-day count on Aug. 24.
