619 students gone, just 12 recovered: Leon County Schools’ enrollment rescue effort

FOX 49 | By: Fox 49 Staff | October 27, 2026

Leon County Schools hired an outside recruitment company to bring students back and recover lost state funding. But with only 12 returning students verified from an initial list of 619, school board members are questioning whether the effort can make a meaningful dent in the district’s multimillion-dollar enrollment problem.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Leon County Schools is fighting to bring back students — and the state funding that follows them — but early results from an outside recruitment effort are raising questions about whether the strategy can reverse the district’s enrollment losses.

During Monday’s School Board agenda review, officials revealed that just 12 students have been verified as returning to the district under the recruitment company’s contract, from an initial list of 619 withdrawn students.

That’s a verified return rate of approximately 2%, prompting questions about whether the effort can deliver meaningful results as the financially strained district struggles with declining enrollment.

619 students identified. Only 12 verified so far.

The district contracted with student recruitment company Caissa K-12 to contact families whose children previously attended Leon County schools and encourage them to return.

The company received student withdrawal records covering three years and began outreach through phone calls and email campaigns.

Its progress reports initially identified:

• 38 potential returning students during the first recruitment phase.
• 12 hot leads showing interest.
• Five preliminary commitments.
• 12 students verified so far as meeting the district’s contractual requirements.
• Officials explained that some students identified by the company did not qualify for payment under the contract, including prekindergarten students who had not previously attended district schools.

The district is now reviewing an additional list of 50 students to determine whether they qualify as returning students.

The final number of successful recruitments has not yet been established.

‘A very small percentage’

School Board member Darryl Jones questioned the scale of the results compared with the district’s enrollment and financial challenges.

He repeatedly pressed administrators to explain how an initial pool of 619 students had produced only a dozen verified returns.

“A very small percentage,” Jones observed.

Jones said the district has repeatedly described declining enrollment as a crisis costing millions in state funding.

Against that backdrop, he questioned whether recovering approximately $100,000 in funding represents sufficient progress.

“Who am I to sneeze at $100,000?” Jones asked.

But he noted that the amount pales in comparison with the millions of dollars the district hopes to recover through increased enrollment.

$100,000 recovered — but how much does recruitment cost?

District officials estimated the 12 verified returning students could generate approximately $108,000 in state funding, based on roughly $9,000 per student.

Under the recruitment agreement, officials said the company would receive approximately $12,000 for those 12 verified students, or about $1,000 per qualifying return.

That would leave approximately $96,000 in estimated funding before accounting for the district’s costs of educating those students.

The district emphasized that it is independently verifying every student before agreeing to pay the company.

Officials said the recruitment campaign began later than originally intended and should not yet be judged as a completed effort.

District promises more aggressive recruitment

Superintendent Rocky Hanna defended the strategy, explaining that the district agreed to evaluate the company’s performance over a full year.

The effort is entering its second phase, targeting students who did not enroll this fall.

Recruitment efforts could eventually expand beyond emails and telephone calls to include door-to-door outreach.

Officials said the company will continue working toward Florida’s February student enrollment count, which helps determine state education funding.

Another board member questioned whether Caissa had provided historical recruitment success rates or performance benchmarks.

District representatives said they would request that information.

Enrollment crisis puts pressure on district finances

The recruitment effort comes as Leon County Schools faces significant financial pressure from declining enrollment, rising operating costs and shrinking reserves.

Because Florida’s public school funding is tied heavily to student enrollment, every student who leaves the district can mean thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

The district recently approved a $30 million short-term loan to manage cash flow while awaiting property tax collections.

Although the loan addresses an immediate funding gap, bringing students back could help strengthen recurring revenue.

But recovering 12 students from an initial list of 619 underscores the scale of the challenge.

Can Leon County win students back?

District leaders maintain that the recruitment effort is still in its early stages and could produce more substantial results before the next state enrollment count.

For now, however, the numbers have exposed a difficult reality.

Leon County Schools is spending money to recruit students it once educated, hoping their return will help offset millions in lost funding.

The district has verified 12 returns, with additional cases under review.