Public school enrollment dips across Northeast Florida amid universal vouchers law

Duval County Public Schools lost nearly 10,000 students this year after two years of steady growth.

First Coast News | By Cheyenne Cole | October 9, 2023

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Student population is steadily declining at some public schools across Northeast Florida.

Parents are cashing in universal vouchers from the Florida Department of Education and enrolling their kids at private or specialized schools instead.

A declining enrollment means fewer dollars for classrooms in districts like Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties.

After two years of steady growth, Duval County Public Schools lost nearly 10,000 students this year.

The district still has to provide the same level of services, but for every child who leaves, the district loses thousands of dollars.

Nina Perez is a parent who moved to Duval County for the public school system, but now she’s concerned about how vouchers will impact district funding.

“I’m really worried that this is going to take money away from my daughter’s public education,” Perez said.

A “record number” of families are taking advantage of the Family Empowerment Law signed in March by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Department of Education reported awarding vouchers to over 407,000 students in August. That voucher money is taken from the public education system to pay for private or specialized school tuition.

“The second I moved here, my kid’s about to start public school, I have to worry about, is there enough money for her education?” Perez said.

Not every county has seen the steep decline Duval has, but they have seen a reversal of their annual growth.

Fast growing Clay County Schools added about 650 students in 2022. This year, they added only 25.

Former Duval County School board member Elizabeth Andersen said taxpayer shouldn’t foot the bill for private education.

“What will that do to class sizes? How will that impact our educators?” Andersen said.

She said it’s not a fair use of tax dollars in most cases.

“This is like having the country club come to the taxpayer and asking us to pay to maintain their swimming pool,” Andersen said.

Trends are similar in St. Johns County, which saw an eight percent increase in student population in 2021. This year, despite surging county growth, that increase was just three percent.

Doug Tuthill leads Step Up for Students, a Jacksonville-based voucher advocacy group that disburses the state funds.

“Every child is unique,” Tuthill said. “We want their families to have the ability to customize an education that best meets the unique needs of each child.””

He deflects recent criticism that voucher money can be used to purchase skateboards or even amusement park tickets.

“You can read it in a book, or you can go and actually experience it in real life,” Tuthill said.

Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar said the public education system in Florida is already experiencing the worst staffing shortages in state history and ranks 45th in the nation for school funding.

“This is a coordinated effort to try to divert dollars and divert students out of public schools,” Spar said.

Spar said the FEA is asking the legislature to increase the education budget by $2.5 billion dollars next year because 90 percent of kids in Florida still attend public schools.

In a statement to First Coast News, the Department of Education said the number of voucher applicants shows “Florida families are excited to provide their children additional educational opportunities.”