Florida legislature considers cutting in half money for AP, IB programs in PBC schools

The Palm Beach County School District could lose as much as $47 million in state funding, including a 50% cut in money high schools use to offer college and career coursework, such as AP, IB and AICE classes.

School board members have been increasingly alarmed by proposals advancing in the state House, which would result in a $41 million cut, and in the state Senate, which would bring a $47 million cut. Erica Whitfield described the budget situation as “traumatic.” Marcia Andrews said it’s “grim,” and Superintendent Mike Burke called it “cause for great concern.”

The district’s fiscal year 2025 budget was $5.7 billion. In that context, a budget cut of $41 million or $47 million would not seem dire. But school officials say it’s where the cuts are coming that make them so problematic.

State legislators are proposing reductions in the amount of money the district uses to cope with the rising cost of living and reductions in the amount of money used to teach students whose first language is not English. The cost of living in Palm Beach County, long one of the highest in the state, continues to rise. The number of English-language learners the district is required to educate also continues to rise.

Programs that can reduce college costs in peril

And then there are the big proposed cuts to college and career coursework programs such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment, industry certifications and Advanced International Certificate of Education known as AICE.

Those programs allow students to get college credit while in high school, reducing the amount they have to pay when they go to college. An AICE diploma, combined with community services, qualifies a student for the Florida Academic Scholars award, which covers 100% of college tuition and fees. And industry certifications available in high school offer students faster and less expensive career options.

College and career coursework programs are enormously popular in Palm Beach County. In 2024, 70% of the graduating class took at least one college course, district figures show. This school year, that percentage is up to 85%.

Districts get money for those programs based on the number of students who complete them. In the last budget year, the district got $63.6 million for those programs. The House’s schools funding legislation would bring a college and career coursework program cut of $32 million. Passage of the Senate’s proposal would mean a $27 million cut.

Burke noted with pride that the district has been increasing the number of students enrolled in college and career coursework programs.

“Without those resources, it’s going to be hard to sustain that,” he said.

Palm Beach County parents urged to contact legislators

The House and Senate proposals could still be modified. Burke and school board members urged parents to let state legislators know what they think of them.

“I would tell parents to pay attention to what’s happening in Tallahassee,” Burke said. “There’s a strong emphasis on cutting taxes, which may sound good. But you really need to look at the value of the programs we provide to them. If you’re the parent of a high school student, you benefit. They may have to pay more down the road.”

Burke, however, did stress in an April 3 email to district officials about the proposed cuts that the budget process is still evolving.

School board member Matthew Jay Lane said cutting funding for college and career coursework is counterproductive.

“Florida is 46th in the nation in per-student spending, and, unsurprisingly, Florida is 47th in the nation in SAT scores and Florida is last in ACT scores,” he said. “In order to rectify the situation, the Legislature has proposed a budget where they cut ($47 million) from our budget.”

The proposed reductions in college and career coursework program funding is not the only budgetary pressure the district faces.

Last year, the increasing use of taxpayer-funded private school vouchers resulted in a transfer of $202 million from public schools to private schools. That trend is accelerating rapidly. District figures show that the voucher program is expected to account for 14% of the state’s education budget as students attending private schools with voucher assistance has surpassed charter school enrollment.

“We’re in bad times right now when you look at these numbers,” Andrews said during a recent budget workshop. “I’m really concerned. People need to know, based on the numbers coming out of Tallahassee, it is very grim.”

Andrews alluded to the possible closure of the U.S. Department of Education and the loss of funding it provides.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen to us at the federal level,” she said. “This is just the state, and it’s just horrifying what might happen to us moving forward.”