ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools is set to lose over $27 million in state funding due to a decrease in enrollment, a blow to the budget district leaders are now trying to lessen by finding students to re-enroll.

In April, the school board unanimously voted to approve a partnership with Caissa Public Strategy LLC in order to bring students back. 

Caissa would be paid a per student fee of $935 for each re-enrolled student that attends a district operated school for 30 days.

“We want to make sure that our families know that we have the best product that we can offer that to our families and our neighborhood local schools,” Orange County Schools spokesperson Scott Howat said. 

Howat says they have a predicted loss of around 3,000 students for the next school year.

“You could end up losing teachers,” he said. “They could be grade level teachers, they could be core specific teachers could end up being lost because there aren’t enough students to fund that teacher and those programs.”

Orange County Public Schools board member Melissa Byrd says leaders saw a decline in enrollment was coming.

“The legislature removed income requirements for the state voucher system and scholarships,” she said. “We knew that more parents would be taking advantage of that, especially parents that homeschool and go to private schools.”

Byrd says the board will now work on solutions to make up for budget shortfalls.

A work session is set for Tuesday, May 20 to talk about budgetary priorities.

“You know, as a teacher, you want to be able to do what’s best for your kids and they shouldn’t have to worry about their positions at their schools. They should just be focused on the kids,” Byrd said. 

Despite a short-term decline, district officials do believe they will see growth by the end of the decade and highlighted that a new elementary school is opening this summer in the Lake Nona area.