Finance and Budget administrators estimate School Board budget deficit at $6.5 million in their last meeting

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With next year’s revenue still uncertain, the School Board of Alachua County learned at their June 4 workshop that they’re facing a budget deficit of about $6.5 million; the Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Budget Director resigned about a week later.

Assistant Superintendent for Finance Gabrielle Jaremczuk (who submitted her resignation a week later) told the board that school districts throughout the state are working with projections right now because the legislative budget had not been passed at the time; the legislature’s budget passed on June 17, but the governor has not yet signed it.

Jaremczuk said she was using the House proposal as a conservative starting point, and she projected $10.7 million less in state revenue than the current budget year, largely driven by having fewer students in district schools. Local revenue is projected to increase by $4.1 million, and Jaremczuk estimated that $15.3 million (updated from the presentation in the workshop’s agenda) will be transferred from the district’s capital funds to cover funding shortfalls; Jaremczuk said, “Transfers like this help alleviate pressure on the General Fund and are subject to annual review and adjustment.”

Jaremczuk said the number of students in scholarship programs doubled in 2024-25 and is forecast by the state to be 5,555 next year. She said, “This growing number means more state funding dollars are being diverted away from Alachua [County Public Schools] and redirected to private individuals for private schools and home schooling; although these students live in our county and are included in the state’s total enrollment count, they are not funded through the district’s FEFP allocation.”

Student count is projected to decline again next year

Jaremczuk said the unweighted FTE (student count) “has declined in recent years and is projected to decline again for the 2025-2026 school year.” She said the total includes charter school enrollment, but those funds are simply passed through from the district to the charter schools. “While overall enrollment is declining, charter school enrollment has consistently increased year-over-year, and the trend is expected to continue into next year.”

Jaremczuk said a “greater share of our state revenue is passed through to these schools” every year, and “this shift in funding dynamics is important to consider when evaluating district financial priorities and long-term planning.”

She said the proposed House budget includes dedicated funds to cover a 0.53% increase in teacher salaries next year; districts must use those funds to raise the minimum base salary or provide salary increases for other full-time instructional personnel.

Member Tina Certain asked whether her estimate that the budget deficit was around $6.5 million was correct, and Jaremczuk said it was, but “it’s a little fluid.” Certain said she had expected estimated staffing numbers, and Jaremczuk said, “We are finalizing all that information, and I felt it was probably better not to present anything that wasn’t final, because it is extremely fluid.”

Jaremczuk, who resigned a week after this meeting, repeatedly emphasized that the budget was preliminary, with information like final student counts and certified property values still pending. She also gave credit to Budget Director Deborah Parrish for all of her work on the budget; Parrish resigned two days after Jaremczuk submitted her resignation.

Updated budgets will be presented in July and September.