Public school districts across Florida are seeing funding drop as the state spends more on private school voucher programs. This week, Sarasota County school leaders said the system is flawed and discussed ways to convince lawmakers to make changes.
In the county alone, $45 million in taxpayer money is being siphoned away from public schools for the 2025-26 school year toward students in private or homeschool settings, according to district documents.
When Florida voted in 2023 to expand state-funded scholarships worth about $8,000 for private schools to anyone, regardless of income, lawmakers said it would be a positive move because the money would follow the student…