No ‘free pass’: Florida CFO calls for school board spending reviews
Tampa Bay Times | Jeffrey S. Solochek | January 8, 2026
The big story: To date, Florida’s chief financial officer has focused his spending efficiency reviews on municipal governments.
On Wednesday, he suggested turning his attention to school districts.
“The school districts are some of the most wasteful spenders in government,” Blaise Ingoglia said in comments he shared on X. He provided no specifics, but spoke of creating a methodology to compare the growth in school budgets to that of the student populations they serve.
He then posed the question, “Which school board should we FAFO first?” Education commissioner Anastasios Kamoutas quickly chimed in, “I have ideas,” while offering none.
So, too, did several of Ingoglia’s followers. While most kept their recommendations close to home, some suggested out-of-state districts such as Los Angeles and Houston. Among the most frequently mentioned were Hillsborough, Broward and Orange counties.
Then there were the respondents who questioned the endeavor, suggesting Ingoglia had much bigger fish to fry at the state level. Chief among them were Gov. Ron DeSantis and Hope Florida, and the charter school firm run by Erika Donalds, wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds.
A few also called on Ingoglia to release details of what he finds, rather than making incendiary statements based on what they called “vibes.” Several municipal leaders including in Pinellas County have questioned the CFO’s past findings, saying they lacked context such as the role of unfunded state mandates.
