Palm Beach County schools to get modest funding bump, but what of AP, IB, AICE programs?
The Palm Beach County School District would get an additional $18 million in state funding if Gov. Ron DeSantis does not make significant changes to the budget passed by state lawmakers in June.
Getting additional money is a world away from the dire financial calamity Palm Beach County School Board members feared this spring, when earlier proposals in Tallahassee would have cut district funding by as much as $47 million, including a 50% reduction in money for hugely popular Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education programs. The state's $115.1 billion budget holds funding for AP, IB and AICE programs steady.
DeSantis is expected to sign the budget before the state's new fiscal year begins on July 1. The school district is expected to give tentative approval to its budget on July 30, with final adoption scheduled for Sept. 10.
"We have successfully narrowed an initial projected shortfall of $41 million down to a more manageable $916,318," a district spokesman said. "Our commitment remains to provide the best possible education for our students while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars."
The district's 2024-2025 budget is $5.7 billion.
New fiscal year to bring higher costs
District officials are relieved not to face the daunting task of producing a balanced budget with $47 million less in state funding. But there are no cartwheels over the additional $18 million, which a district spokesman said is "immediately absorbed" by mandatory increases in healthcare premiums, teacher pay and rising operational costs.
During a budget workshop in April, the district's chief financial officer, Heather Frederick, told school board members the district faces increased costs of $5 million for employee retirement contributions, $4.1 million in higher salaries and about $10 million for healthcare premiums. The district also expects to pay more for energy with an as-yet-undetermined hike in FPL rates.
School officials across the state are cheering the demise of proposed cuts to AP, IB and AICE program funding.
The Florida Education Association, a statewide federation of education unions that tracks policy and funding, credited "engagement from parents, community, and educators across the state" for impressing upon lawmakers how important those programs are to them.
The programs allow students to get college credit while in high school, reducing the amount they have to pay when they go to college. An AICE diploma, combined with community service, qualifies a student for the Florida Academic Scholars award, which covers 100% of college tuition and fees.
In 2024, 70% of the graduating class took at least one college course, Palm Beach County School District figures show. This past school year, that percentage rose to 85%.
In the last budget year, the district got $63.6 million for those programs. A state House proposal would have cut $32 million from them, and the Senate's proposal would have meant a $27 million cut.
Superintendent Mike Burke said the district would not have ended the college and career prep programs, but their continued growth would have been threatened.
Modest bump in teacher pay
That worry is off the table for now, but another concern remains pressing: teacher pay.
Average annual teacher pay in Palm Beach County schools is about $70,000, far higher than the state average of about $55,000. But starting pay for a teacher with no experience is $53,000 in the district, an amount that is far short of what is necessary to live independently in one of the most expensive areas of the state.
The state budget includes $101 million for increased teacher pay, but the FEA said that amount equates to about $20 per pay period per teacher.
"The budget keeps Florida at the bottom of the nation in average teacher pay," the organization noted in its post legislative session report.
Despite the hold-steady approach to funding for AP, IB and AICE programs, the FEA said districts as a whole fare poorly in the budget, with an increase in funding that "fails to keep pace with inflation on increasing operating costs, putting districts under more pressure to do more with less."
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.