CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The Clay County School District said it is reevaluating its spending as it faces a potential $10 million budget shortfall next year.
The district said it is trying to address a drop in revenue and rising costs.
News4JAX received concerns from viewers who said layoffs were happening in the district. While the district said layoffs were not happening, the Clay County teachers union said cuts are being made.
On May 27, board members discussed the budget during a workshop.
Superintendent David Broskie shared that there’s decreased revenue from a few places, including uncertainty from the state budget, and a decrease of enrollment, which equals to about 500 students.
He also noted increased costs as a factor.
School officials said they are prioritizing students in the classroom. They’re also working to minimize the impact on employees, and they’ll also reduce district staff at a larger proportion than school staff.
He said their goal is to place all affected employees within the district.
“With 82% of your budget is, in fact, employees and the state kind of hands you with what they’ve handed us, we’ve got to take action in order to ensure that at the end of next year, we can be in as good shape as we are at the end of this year and be able to meet all of our obligations at the end of the year,” Broskie said.
Terri Dennis, the school district communications manager, sent the following statement to News4JAX.
“The changes some staff members are experiencing are transfers due to necessary adjustments in allocations based on our projected budget for the 2025-2026 school year. Every employee has been offered a position per their contract language, and there have been no layoffs within the district. All schools will continue to have either a media center specialist or a media center technician on staff. Furthermore, elementary schools will still offer weekly media classes as part of their curriculum rotation. All students, from elementary to secondary levels, will maintain access to a fully staffed media center with either a specialist or technician present.”
Terri Dennis, Clay County District Schools spokesperson
Vicki Kidwell, president of the Clay County Education Association, shared this statement about the changes.
“It’s a rough time for all public schools in Florida. Every district is trying to cut their budgets to prepare for the inadequate public school funding proposals coming from Tallahassee. The state continues to invest billions in universal vouchers and funding for charter schools rather than fully fund our public schools. Although education budget specifics are not yet final, all of the Legislative budget proposals fail our public-school students.
Each department and school in Clay was asked to make budget cuts and choices based on the least impact to students.
In Clay County this 3rd round of cuts will impact over 200 employees. I have heard from many of them. No department or school was spared.
Today, I have been contacted by several secondary media specialists, a social worker, many new teacher coaches, resource teachers, school psychologists, a foreign language teacher, math, English, a second language teacher, and elective educators in media production, sign language, and art.
Clay County Education Association is thankful that our Superintendent has pledged to find a position for each employee so that no one loses their employment. However, the impact on student class options, educator support, and class size cannot be denied.
Florida average teacher pay ranks 50th in the nation and per student funding ranks #42. Education budget proposals for 25-26 will not improve these statistics.
Vicki Kidwell, President of the Clay County Education Association
News4JAX followed up with the school district to confirm the number of employees impacted by the reorganization, and we are still waiting to hear back.
However, the district did confirm that all impacted employees were offered a position, and that the new positions varied depending on the certification and qualifications of the employee. The roles affected ranged from instructional support and administrative positions.
The district also shared why the budget cuts were necessary.
“Like several other school districts across Florida, our budget is being impacted by inflation, proration, an increase in state-funded vouchers, and the uncertainty of a state budget not yet being finalized,” Dennis shared in an email.
