Florida schools lose thousands more students. More closures possible.
Tampa Bay Times | By: Jeffrey S. Solochek | August 24, 2026
The big story: The trend away from public schools continues this fall across Florida.
In the Tampa Bay area, both the Pasco and Pinellas districts reported early numbers showing declines from a year ago.
Their drops, about 2,000 and 3,800 respectively, look small compared to counterparts in south Florida.
Miami-Dade County, the state’s largest district, had 19,000 fewer students on its first day back than a year earlier, WLRN reports. That’s despite its superintendent predicting no change after what he called a one-year anomaly.
Broward County reported an 11,000-student decrease. That’s led superintendent Howard Hepburn to recommend closing another 10 schools in 2027, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
The district closed or consolidated six campuses this year, USA Today reports.
Districts will take their official fall counts in October. That’s the figure the state will use for determining first semester funding. Stay tuned.
