As recently reported, our dedicated teachers and other employees continue to be tremendously underpaid. Leon County School District operating reserves have dwindled down to the minimum amount required by law and this year we were embarrassingly only able to offer our teachers a minimal raise, and other support staff saw no raise at all. Something drastic has to change, now. The immediate remedy to this on-going problem is staring us in the face. We must lower our operational costs and apply that savings to raise the amounts that we pay our employees.
Our ability to pay teachers a higher wage is handcuffed by the operation of too many under capacity schools caused by popularity of School Choice vouchers and scholarships, well-performing Charter Schools and shifting population demographics. Leon County Schools current enrollment is just under 32,000 and we are operating 51 school sites. Compare this to our neighboring county Okaloosa Schools (an A district) which is similar in size, serving just over 32,000 students at only 44 school sites. By operating efficiently, Okaloosa Schools teacher salaries are paid an average of $6,000 more than their counterparts in Leon.
Our enrollment declines didn’t happen overnight but have been a slow steady decline over the past 15 years. FLDOE Average Daily Attendance reports show ALL but seven of our traditional public schools have experienced between 2%-35% declines in enrollment from 2010 to 2025. Years of declines have led to seven of our traditional public schools currently operating between 70%-75% of student capacity, and another five operating between 60%-69%. So where did the students go?…