Rising public funding for private schools, shrinking enrollment, inflation, and end of COVID dollars lead to hard choices.
By Alice Herman/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: April 8, 2026
Host: First-year teachers across the district could lose their jobs next school year. In response to funding shortfalls, Sarasota County Schools plans to cut 180 instructional staff positions. Alice Herman with Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report.
Alice Herman: The staff reductions come as the state diverts millions of dollars to school vouchers for families to pay private school tuition, inflation outpaces state funding for public education and special COVID-19 earmarked funds dry up. In Sarasota, a county with an aging population, public student enrollment has also flatlined in recent years, meaning less money for schools.
The cuts mirror those at school districts across Florida, which have slashed programming and even closed schools amid mounting budget pressures. Sarasota is an A-rated school district in a property-rich region that enjoys enthusiastic community support. That’s why the roughly 6% reduction in instructional staff has come as a shock here.
Jodanna Osceola: It breaks my heart every day.
AH: That was Jodanna Osceola. She’s a mom of three elementary school kids and founded the group Sarasota Parents United, one of a patchwork of grassroots groups focusing on public education in Sarasota.
JO: Teachers don’t deserve that. They already work hard enough. They’re already spread too thin. We have amazing teachers in our district, which is how we get that A and B rating.
AH: Among teachers, those in their first year with the district would be the first to be laid off, according to the union. Another 79 classified staff positions, such as custodians, food service workers and IT professionals, are also slated to be cut.
First-year teachers across the district could lose their jobs next school year as Sarasota County Schools plans to cut 180 instructional staff positions in response to funding shortfalls. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education via Suncoast Searchlight
When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools in 2020, it left educators scrambling to implement remote and hybrid schooling. The federal government responded by unleashing millions in new funding. Sarasota County Schools brought in $115 million in special pandemic relief from 2020 through 2022, which the district spent on 182 new positions to help with literacy, early learning and information technology, among others, according to the district.
During the same period, property values skyrocketed in Sarasota as buyers flocked to the region—giving district coffers a boost in funding that has since slowed as the market cools.
Sarasota County Schools superintendent Terry Connor talked about the shift at a school board meeting last month.
Terry Connor: In school districts specifically, we were given a healthy amount of pandemic relief funding and that, at this point, has come to an end.
AH: He listed other factors too. There’s Sarasota’s aging population, which has led to a plateau in enrollment in the district. And he mentioned the cooling housing market.
TC: We see that state funding is not keeping pace with the inflation that we’re experiencing. We’ve seen in the last few years a pretty substantial increase in the cost of living while state funding has relatively remained steady or flat.
AH: And then there’s the role of vouchers—public dollars that families can claim to help pay for private education for their children. In 2023, Florida passed a law allowing even the wealthiest families to access the program. In Florida, school vouchers are called Family Empowerment Scholarships—that’s what Superintendent Terry Connor is talking about when he mentions scholarships.
TC: When you take the data right now in Sarasota County, 4,800 students—roughly—are opting to take a scholarship. Here is an interesting stat around that: Only about 37%, 38% of them were students who were enrolled with us in our district managed or charter schools.
About 4,800 Sarasota County students took vouchers to attend private schools this year. Image from the March 3, 2026, Sarasota County School Board meeting presentation via Suncoast Searchlight
AH: The other 60%? Those were kids who were already enrolled in private schools. But now, their families are using vouchers to help subsidize the cost. The shift in vouchers in Florida has had a major impact in Sarasota.
The legislature determines funding for public schools using a calculus called the Florida Education Finance Program. It takes into consideration factors like local property tax revenue, costs of living and the costs of different educational programs.
In Sarasota County, every penny of state funding from the Florida Education Finance Program was diverted into vouchers for private schools this year, with the lion’s share of money flowing into the district coming from local property taxes. That’s according to Florida Department of Education budget documents.
That amounted to nearly $45 million in public funding being redirected from Sarasota County Schools and into the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, according to the district’s current budget.
Tallahassee legislators have yet to pass a budget for the coming year, and the Sarasota County School district will continue to feel the pinch absent any major changes.
Reporting for Suncoast Searchlight, this has been Alice Herman.
To read the full report, visit suncoastsearchlight.org/sarasota-county-schools-budget-teacher-cuts-vouchers.
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