This is the first of two articles on “school choice” and its consequences in Flagler schools. See the second part, “Superintendent LaShakia Moore Is Taking on ‘School Choice’ on Her Terms: Stop Competing with Vouchers at a Disadvantage.”
Private and homeschool vouchers are beginning to take a heavier toll on the Flagler County school district as enrollment is forecast to decline by 432 students by fall, a 3 percent decline, reducing the district’s funding by $2.5 million. That’s equivalent to 30 fewer teachers.
“This year, between today and June 30, we have to make up that deficit of $2.5 million,” Superintendent LaShakia Moore said. The district did not know that until the state’s latest financial calculation in spring, narrowing the window for the district to make its cuts.
The district is not in crisis. Its reserves are at 9 percent in a $155 million budget, Moore said. (In the budget presented to board members last fall, the reserve by June 30 was projected to be $9.5 million in a budget of $155 million.)
The district in previous years built up its reserve thanks to the Biden administration’s Covid-era aid (the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund). The Flagler district’s share was $14.6 million by March 31, 2023. That money has dried up. “We don’t have those dollars. And so we don’t have a means to build up the fund balance [that is, the reserve], other than to make cuts and reductions,” Moore said in an hour-long interview with FlaglerLive.
Moore does not expect layoffs. Those 30 teachers will not be fired or laid off. “We’ll make it up in positions of individuals who have left,” Moore said, looking to attrition to account for the reduction. At least this year. “Some of it may have to come out of our fund balance, but the majority of it, we will get through vacancies.”
Moore is concerned about the future. “It’s going to be a pattern,” she said. “Forty-seven out of 67 school districts in the state of Florida are either at a stagnant or declining enrollment.” Declining enrollment means declining dollars to fund local schools.
The St. Johns County school district, the top-rated in the state, has been opening one new school a year for 10 years. Next year, it is scheduled to open two new K-8 schools with a capacity for 2,600 students between them. Yet it is forecast to have only 95 additional students next year. “How in the world are you telling me that St. Johns County is slated to go up 95 kids? If that happens, there should be, like, an outrage,” Moore said.
Last month, a report by the state Education Estimating Conference projected public school enrollment statewide to go from 2,805,298 in the 2025-2026 fiscal year to 2,742,162 in the 2029-2030 fiscal year.
Flagler County had been projecting the need for a new middle and high school this decade. No longer. That’s been pushed out seven to 10 years–if then, even as the district continues to take in school impact fees from builders and developers, because construction has not slowed.
The deficit and falling enrollment is a direct result of Florida’s relatively new voucher program, which gives tax dollars–or “vouchers”–to families so they can send their children to private schools or educate them at home. The initiative, enacted in 2023, was championed by then House Speaker Paul Renner, who also represented Flagler County.
The voucher program pays families $8,000 for each student in kindergarten through third grade, and a bit less for older students. That’s for general-education students. Students with disabilities or special needs receive far higher amounts in voucher money–from $10,800 to $34,000 per student.
Angela O’Brien, FlaglerCounty’s assistant superintendent for academic services, says 323 students have been withdrawn for home education this year alone, and an additional 172 were withdrawn for the so-called Personalized Education Program (PEP), one of the state’s voucher programs, whose acceptance rate is not open-ended. So many parents opt to homeschool as they wait for an opening in PEP. (Note: the withdrawal numbers are higher than in an earlier version of the story; today’s numbers are updated as of today; the previous numbers were based on calculations late last month.)
Flagler County’s enrollment has been flat for 15 to 16 years, hovering in the 12,500 to 13,500 range. For the first time in those 15 years, Moore says the state is forecasting an actuarial decline directly related to the voucher program.
The state forecast for enrollment in Flagler County schools a year ago was for 13,687 students–not including VPK, but including the 900-odd students who attend Imagine, the charter school in Town Center, and the nearly 200 students who attend iFlagler, the virtual school.
In March, the district was 161 students short of that. It had 13,526 students, even though it had reported 13,854 students to the state in February.
The state’s forecast for the 2025-26 school year is a further decline, to 13,249
“What that is saying is the state anticipates about 400 students to either not enroll with us full time, or to leave us to go with the voucher program,” compared with the year-ago forecast, Moore said.
Students are required to unenroll from the district to take advantage of the voucher program. If a student wants to take a class with the district, the family must contract with the district to pay it directly, or to inform the state to pay the district for the service, “for any school service that you are going to elect to receive from the district if you have withdrawn from us.” But those contracts are not making up for lost dollars.
And it’s not quite any service: students don’t have to pay to participate in athletic or afterschool programs, even though it’s the existing students in brick-and-mortar schools who generate state funding who make those extra curricular activities possible.
In the state’s second funding calculation earlier this year, $10 million was going to be generated for the voucher program in Flagler County. By the third calculation, the number went up to $14 million. “What this is saying is either more students did not select us,” Moore said, “or they left us, or more students who were in the community, already receiving their education in a different way, took the voucher.”
The state puts that money in the district’s budget, then withdraws it. It makes it appear as if the district’s budget has $14 million more than it actually does. But the district will never see that money. Obviously, the district is not losing $14 million. That figure represents the funding for all Flagler County students receiving voucher money, including students who were attending private schools or being homeschool to start with–and had never enrolled in Flagler schools–and are now opting to take the voucher money. Moore and O’Brien estimate that number of students at 2,000 or just above that.
But it’s out of that $14 million that the district is directly losing the $2.5 million in funding it could previously count on. This is where it gets critical for the district.
“Our schools are going to experience a decrease in the number of staff that they have on their campus,” Moore said. Curiously, the majority of the withdrawals from schools has taken place in secondary schools–Matanzas High School and Flagler Palm Coast High School–not in elementary schools. Elementary schools’ kindergarten enrollment is lower this year (there’s no data suggesting that kindergarten students are going the voucher route), but other elementary grades are maintaining their numbers.
The drop in enrollment is also affecting federal funding. “We are anticipating this next year to be pretty level funded,” O’Brien said, “but what we do have to do is pull out money for private schools. There’s a proportionate share that goes to our private schools.”
The long-term sustainability of the public school system is in question.
“It’s not about this year. It’s about two years from now, what this will look like. That is what we have to look at and we have to be asking, as a community,” More said. “How do we afford this four years from now, five years from now? What does education look like? What does the standard of education look like three years from now, four years from now? I think right now people are just looking at today, and I’m not thinking about today. I’m definitely thinking about two years from now, three years from now.”
Don miller says
Guess that t
Elks you that 400 went there only because they had no other choice. When gift. That choice, they made it clear they ain’t buying what they are selling
Deborah Coffey says
So, the Republican plan to completely kill public education is working. Are we going to allow this to happen, Americans? What a sad, pathetic country we are becoming. Ladies, don’t have children if you plan on living in the United States. There will absolutely nothing left for them except corporate slavery.
Orange treason says
Lololol hahaha not like they didn’t know it was coming they voted republican and were systematically defunded in favor of for profit schools with no standards. That Nazi school gets your tax dollars now!!! Sieg heil!
Jay Tomm says
I wonder why? Public schools no longer teach your kids values, & they all have agendas. At least with private school there is a outline parents KNOW before they sign up. They know what will be taught & the noise that will not be.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Sorry, I’m having a hard time with the numbers here. $2.5 million is 30 fewer teachers, which averages to about $83k/year per teacher. Ziprecruiter places the average salary at $38k, glassdoor somewhere between $51k and $66k. Where’s 30 coming from, other than nebulous Ed.D math?
Merrill Shapiro says
This is all part of the ongoing war on public education that has meant so very much to so many of us. Those of us who support our State Constitution that says “The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida,” must remember that “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” (Thanks, Thomas Paine).
It should also be noted that a a million dollars for our public schools is used to pay teachers who are licensed by the State, highly educated, highly qualified, highly credentialed, highly experienced professionals whose performance is constantly evaluated. A million dollars to home schooling and even many private schools is used to pay “educators” who are often illiterate, unversed in the values of the United States, ignorant of our history and highly suspicious of algebra and geometry.
Finally, Governor DeSantis’ current proposal to do away with property taxes is a proposal to defund public education. If we are silent, sadly, we’ll get what we deserve!
Land of no turn signals says says
This is a bit of the chickens coming home to roost scenario.Flagler can’t get replacement teachers that are willing to work for low pay and parents are fed up.long term teachers haven’t had a decent pay raise in a decade.Their health insurance is threw the roof yet the school board has FULLY paid health insurance that they voted in for themselves.Not bad for a part time job.
Atwp says
Tax dollars to private schools. Did anyone see this result last year? Tax dollars to private schools, somebody with some common foresight should have seen the public schools would suffer a deficit. How will the deficit be corrected? Stop funding private schools with my tax dollars.
MM says
it’s surprises me that so many parents would chose Home Schooling. Most homes have both parents working nowadays, so having a child at home isn’t going to work well in those instances. During Covid when schools closed their doors all we heard was how can I go to work when schools are closed, nobody is home to be with my child. Have things changed?
A great full homeschooler says
Reality is, there is no deficit to make up for when a student is not attending. One less desk needed, one less lunch to prepare, one less student taking up a teachers time.
If schools actually used the 8k to 30k dollars they get PER students to EDUCATE the student, this wouldn’t be an issue. You do the math one the amount of money a public school receives as a whole for the students. There is no way that REALISTICALLY that all that money is going to educating students. Where is it going?
Paying the building lease? Parents don’t use it for that.
Paying staff? Parents don’t make a profit off of it.
Paying electricity for the school? Another thing that isn’t covered for Parents.
Almost every school in the state has TVs, computers, playgrounds, everything that the laws state a parent can purchase.
Public schools have become greedy daycares. They want free money without doing any of the work.
They would rather children become uneducated so they can continue to receive money.
This is why this country is failing. This is why this country is falling apart.
It all starts with the next generations education. And the public school system has been steadily declining for decades.
PC Resident says
I have a child enrolled at Matanzas High School. I wish there was something positive I could say about the school.
JimboXYZ says
Guess they won’t be building those 2 new schools for $ 1/2 billion more in debt now, will they ? Looks like they need to get more efficient with their staff & budgeting. there’s probably plenty of fat to trim from that education budget ?
t.o. Doug says
Perhaps it’s time to structure Flagler schools differently. I’ve been all over the country and I’ve never in my life seen so many administrators on the payrolls of each school.
It’s just awful when I see teachers having to use their paltry paychecks to buy their own school supplies and every school in this county has like 6 “Assistant Principals”!!!
It’s not helping the behaviors obviously, when every school still needs a resource officer and there is still a violent student from Flagler County in the news twice a year. It’s not making the schools better, as evidenced by a 400 student exodus the moment the parents have a real choice. The only thing it does it take desperately needed resources from the real educators (the teachers).
Dave says
So explain it to me like I’m 5. You have less students so there is less funding coming in, but somehow you still have to hire the same amount of teachers. Folks, you are getting scammed.
Terry says
Charter Schools and vouchers are a rip off of Public Education. Why should I have to pay an extra tax so rich people can send their child to private schools. There kids are already in private schools so let them pay for it.
Weeks before Election Day in 1970, with Reagan on the ballot for reelection, one of Reagan’s advisors publicly defended the governor’s attack on higher education.
“We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat,” announced Reagan advisor Roger A. Freeman during a press conference on Oct. 29, 1970. Freeman, an economics professor at Stanford, was also an advisor to President Richard Nixon.
“We have to be selective on who we allow to go through [higher education],” Freeman added.
Nope says
I really don’t think there have been major alterations in our public school educational system over the years. Minor changes in curriculum and the guidance given to students. I find everyone’s replies here repulsive. So- you don’t believe you had a good education? Could your parents afford to send you to private school or a religious school? The idea is we hold staff and educational curriculum to the highest standards to ensure our youth become active members of society. That’s been the idea from day one (once we got rid of segregation and other inequities– or tried to). Teachers need a college degree, they need to stay current to standards and be recognized as professionals within their industry. You can’t get that in a home school. There are also social situations that our youths are experiencing and filtering out for a (hopeful) success. Not an advantage to home school. Are private school teachers better? In my experience as a certified teacher, they often pay less, have religious or other affiliations a teacher needs to follow, and holds a parent’s idea of what professionalism is to higher standards than the teacher who has the training. We are abandoning our youth, taking away their ability to become good citizens and critically abusing our educational professionals. If you have never been in the classroom, then you really can’t understand how important our equal educational standards for everyone is at an upmost importance!!!
Ed P says
Has anyone looked up the Florida Rankings for Flagler County Schools?
All schools are give either an “A” or “B”, nothing lower. Flagler County hold the “B”. No county school has held an “A” since 2019. Both high schools rank 300-302.
Elementary school, Lewis E Wadsworth 963rd in Florida.
Imagine School at Town Center 1490th in Florida.
But all is not so grim. Flagler county schools are ranked 19th of 67. Rankings by Niche and US News. Florida Dept of Education in 2024 ranked Flagler County,#24.
A whopping 58%, yes over 1/2, of the elementary students tested at or above proficient for reading. 61%, nearly 2/3 tested at or above for math.
High schoolers tested similar.
Expense per student about $8782. Nearly 27% of students were absent more than 18 days making them chronic absent- 10% of the total days.
“Houston we have a problem” (Apollo 13). Is it the voucher program or the county’s fault?
Here’s a novel idea, why not set a new course and aggressively work toward improving learning so parents who care about their children’s future are not tempted to seek out private schools or home schooling? Is the county failing the students?
Would you bet your child’s minimum proficiency on 60%? I would not.
Not to get political, but the GOP does not dominate the public education system, so stop blaming them. Look closer to home.
Flagler Bob says
We are so thankful for the voucher program. Our kids now attend a private school that is 10x better than the public school they used to attend. Here were our main reasons for quitting Flagler public:
uncontrolled bullying, the busses (which could be an article in itself), half the young kids seem to be on adderal and are being raised by their grandparents because their parents are drug addicts, (God Bless those grandparents), the cafeteria food is trash (no wonder why childhood obesity and ‘hyperactivity’ is an epidemic), far too many single parent household situations, too many kids per class, too long of a school day for little kids.
public tax dollars cannot fix the above issues. for educated people that have the means to elect voucher, it’s a no brainer.
and just look at the average teacher pay. how can FL expect to attract the best and brightest teachers. by comparison, suburbs in the Northeast with high performing school districts have similar school operating budgets as Flagler, but with less than half to one third of the enrollment.
Deborah Coffey says
To all of you that disrespect public education so much…YOU voted for this. Every year, you fill in the bubble next to every “R” that has been trying to defund public schools for years in the hope of getting rid of every one of them. YOU voted for Rick Scott for governor of Florida? Remember in his first couple of weeks in office when he cut funding for public schools by $2 billion dollars. Of course, like Donald Trump, he had to walk that back a bit…. Do any of you know exactly how many charter schools received millions of your tax dollars and never even opened? Do you know how many have failed? Do you seriously want to pay for Madrassas in Florida? How about for Satanist schools? Buddhist schools? Hindu schools? Yeah, you’re about to get exactly what you voted for but, just like Trump, you blame everyone and everything else for America’s failures. Look in the mirror.
Tired of it says
Some facts about your tax dollars and schools. Your tax dollars go to pay salaries and….things like buildings and other facilities. You get something substantial in return for your dollars, things that will help educate scores of children over time. Your tax dollars that go for school vouchers go to buy buildings and materials for private companies. You basically get nothing tangible for your money, the private companies get richer and if you are lucky, your child gets an education. How many parents actually vet the private schools? Do you ask if they have accreditation? Bet not.
Laurel says
PC Resident: Read the “A great full homeschooler” comment, and I bet you’ll find something positive about your kid’s high school. Actually, you need not read beyond the handle. “Grateful” is one word, spelled wrong there, and home schooled is two words, also spelled wrong there. That parent is a paid home teacher.
Yeah, I see home schooled kids studying at the beach.
Private schools can choose who to enroll. The home schooled family needs a higher income for a parent to stay home full time. That leaves only those who cannot afford to stay home, and those who may be rejected by private schools. Do we see a pattern here? And there’s your future.
Vouchers need to go away. If you opt out of public schools, then pay your own way.
Jack says
@Jay Tomm- Values need to be taught at home by parents, this is not part of the curriculum. Parents that want others to teach their kids values are the problem.
BMW says
It’s amazing to read the comments that name call, suggest folks not have children (hopefully she was never in a position to influence youth) or tout the delusional attributes of the education system as it stands in the United States. Worked my arse off to send my son to private school from age 4 and have absolutely no regrets and certainly don’t need to justify the decision to political hacks who only see the world through political prisms. Parents pay taxes and should be afforded the opportunity to seek out disciplined and structured learning environments that match their child’s needs without paying twice. If you can’t make a clear eyed assessment of the nation’s math and reading scores and admit the present system is failing our youth, then you really should phone 988 for assistance.
The dude says
Flagler schools already sucked really bad. Hence our decision to relocate and only spend summers here.
The differences between the school my 8th grader now attends and Indian Trails are like night and day. Florida schools produce Florida man.
And for the person asking how $38k becomes an 83k statistic… you do understand there’s also benefits involved that cost money and junk?
Scratching my head says
Nobody wants to talk about what brought this on… It isn’t going to end until the curriculum is addressed and changed. The minute schools became political battlegrounds, that was the end. Many parents are saying good riddance.
FlaglerLive says
The district is losing 30 teaching positions.
The actual issue says
There is no one to blame except those who run the public schools. You have ignored our children and have not prepared them properly! You drive the curriculum, not parents! When it’s more important to push forward your political agendas in Schools and not teach, parents get fed up! Our kids aren’t prepared for real life! It’s very simple, you lose students to private schools, you must immediately reduce your budgets! No more funding of garbage school systems!
Billy says
So, when are my real estate taxes going down?