Palm Beach County school principals start reaching out to parents about possible staffing
West Palm CW 34 | September 4, 2025
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Palm Beach County public schools lost 3.4% of the student body this year – and now principals are reaching out to parents about the rearrangement of staff because of those losses.
In an email acquired by CBS12 News, one elementary school principal alerted parents to the following:
“Based on state-mandated formulas, this difference in attendance will, unfortunately, result in an adjustment to our teaching units. Please know that decisions regarding any changes are made with the utmost care and consideration for our students and staff.
This is a challenging process, as we never want to lose teaching or programming units—especially those in vital areas like Fine Arts, ESE, and ESOL. However, these are formulas that all Florida public schools must follow.
Our plan for communicating these changes will be phased to ensure everyone receives timely and personal information:
- First, I will meet individually with any teachers who may be affected before sharing the final adjustment plans with our school staff.
- Next, parents of students whose classrooms are impacted will receive a personal email and printed letter from me.
- Finally, we will share a broader communication with our entire parent community via this newsletter.
All of this will occur over the first two weeks of September.
CBS12 News obtained the district’s official 11th-day enrollment count, a school-by-school breakdown that shows the Palm Beach County School District (PBCSD) lost more than 5,500 students in just one year. When asked for clarification on the email sent by the principal, the school district officials confirmed that changes could be coming soon to staffing at its schools:
“Schools within the School District of Palm Beach County are informing employees there could be adjustments to the staffing levels at schools based on student enrollment. This is part of a process completed every year. We do not anticipate any layoffs at this time, and some employees may be reassigned to other roles within the district.
As part of our planning, we have also implemented a hiring freeze. The School District of Palm Beach County remains committed to its employees and will keep impacted team members updated.”
District officials point to several factors as to why the district saw a loss of students this year: Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship expansion (commonly called school vouchers), demographic changes, and the rising cost of living.
