Seminole County schools face more cuts amid recurring $3 million shortfall

Seminole County Public Schools approved a tentative tax rate of 5.223 mills, but the number did not erase a budget problem that district leaders said will keep coming back. After $27.1 million in cuts for the coming year, the district still projected a recurring $3 million shortfall, a gap that is already pressing hardest on staffing and classroom programs.

Chief Financial Officer John Pavelchak told the Seminole County School Board that the district has endured 14 straight millage decreases, a total decline of 2.47 mills, or 45 percent, since 2012. He also said the Florida Legislature lowered the Required Local Effort millage from 5.474 in 2012 to 2.975 in 2026, extending a long-term squeeze on school revenue even as local costs keep rising.

That pressure has already shown up in classrooms. In May 2026, SCPS said it had cut more than 300 teachers, staff and district employees while projecting a $26.4 million deficit for the 2026-27 school year. The district linked that deficit in part to a projected drop of about 2,000 students, with fewer enrollments tied to state voucher use, immigration enforcement concerns and declining birth rates.

The cuts have not stayed on paper. On June 3, parents said budget reductions had hit the Lawton Chiles Middle School band program, including the loss of one of only two band directors. Earlier, when SCPS faced a $17 million deficit in May 2025, Pavelchak said staffing reductions would be handled largely through attrition or reassignment to minimize disruption. Seminole Education Association president Thomas Bugos II said that year that 187 teachers received non-renewal notices, down from roughly 450 the year before.

The district’s tentative rate translates to $297.50 per $100,000 of taxable property value, and the board’s action came as Florida’s property-tax debate intensified. Pavelchak said a proposed constitutional amendment backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis would not directly cut school revenue, but it could still create future cost implications for services such as school resource officers and other local support. Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson criticized the governor’s property-tax savings calculator on June 16 because it still showed school-related taxes as eliminated.

The uncertainty is not limited to one ballot proposal. Florida lawmakers passed a bill in June to eliminate property taxes on primary homes, leaving voters to decide the issue in November, while House proposals filed in 2026 would preserve school district levies and reduce or eliminate other homestead taxes. For SCPS, the immediate question is which parts of the system can still be protected after the latest round of cuts, and which services may have to shrink again next year.