OCPS tells Winter Park commission enrollment drop could cost district about $30M

Scott Howitt, chief communications officer for Orange County Public Schools, briefed commissioners on enrollment declines and the district’s special 1‑mill property tax. Howitt said the district has lost roughly 19,000 students — about 9% — over four years and described factors behind the decline: historically low birth rates, lower housing turnover, changes to temporary protected-status programs for immigrant groups and the expansion of family empowerment scholarships.

"We lost 10,000 students overnight" during the early pandemic, Howitt said, summarizing the sharp enrollment changes that followed the 2020–21 period; he told commissioners that the district expects approximately a $30,000,000 decline tied to those enrollment changes and related revenue shifts.

Howitt explained that the special millage approved by voters in 2010 and renewed since is dedicated largely to classroom staffing: about 99% of the special‑mill funds go to teacher positions and compensation at the school level, he said, and recent adjustments are aimed at keeping staff and funding classroom needs. He said the one‑mill renewal would generate an estimated $255 million and the new money would be used for teacher compensation and positions.

Commissioners asked about the effect of state policy changes on dual‑enrollment and AP funding, whether vouchers are indexed annually and the board's recent pause on school consolidations. Howitt said the district will continue to examine capacity vs. enrollment and that there are no immediate consolidation plans; he also said family empowerment scholarship payments flow through the state and do not pass through the school district’s general receipts.

The presentation concluded with questions from commissioners and a reminder to residents that the millage renewal would appear on an upcoming ballot.