$47M budget deficit still looms for schools
The School District of Lee County still may be facing a $47 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.
The school district received the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) fourth calculation on May 22, and the first calculation for fiscal year 2026-27 on May 26.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Cox said the unweighted full-time equivalent (FTE) is not the same as enrollment, as it is a measurement of instructional minutes for students. The unweighted FTE decreased about 699.17 — the district went from 109,416 to 108,717.
“The district decreased about 749, while charter and the FES (Family Empowerment Scholarship) increased,” Cox said.
According to the fourth calculation for fiscal year 2025-26, FEFP decreased $4.3 million for base funding and $2.8 million for categorical. She said there is a $7.1 million reduction in overall net, which is $6.6 million reduction for the school district.
“Essentially from last year’s final calculation and this year’s fourth calc, there is a decrease slightly over 1,466. We see changes in specific program areas, with the majority of the decreases in program was for the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) population,” Cox said.
She said when they take the results from the fourth calculation, the projections have not changed much.
There is a $92.4 million operating shortfall. To bridge the gap, there was a $45.4 million capital transfer leaving a remaining deficit of $47 million.
“We have not changed that projection in this point in time,” Cox said. “As we conclude our year with fourth year — we are still concluding our year with this information and all projections. We will not be solved overnight.”
She said in the base student allocation there was an increase of $86, from $5,372.60 to $5,457.60 per student.
“The majority of cost factors decreased for next year — a direct result for funding for us,” Cox said.
The comparable wage factor sits at 1.0033 for the 2026-27 first calculation. She said this is for labor differences between counties. With the decrease, Cox said they had to modify their base student allocation — now a $74 difference instead of $86.
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