Orange school board to pay consultant to lure back OCPS students
The agreement, approved unanimously Tuesday night, gives the task of recruiting back former Orange County Public School students to Caissa Public Strategy LLC, a Tennessee-based public relations firm.
The contract comes as OCPS expects to lose about 3,100 students and $27.8 million in state funding for next school year — a loss that means 2% budget cuts across the board and has prompted fears of teacher layoffs.
The district has largely blamed the state's expansion of the voucher program — which are taxpayer-funded scholarships for private and homeschool — for its declining enrollment. Florida expanded vouchers in 2023, wiping out family income requirements, and voucher use has jumped 67% since then.
Because schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, declining enrollment means a drop in state money. Though some costs drop when enrollment declines, some school costs are fixed, such as air conditioning a campus or paying a principal, so fewer students hurts district budgets.
The district said it's goal was to inform families of the opportunities available at their local public schools and encourage them to return.
'This initiative provides a new avenue for OCPS to promote its schools and highlight the strong educational opportunities available to students and families who live in Orange County and are not enrolled in OCPS,' said Superintendent Maria Vazquez in a statement.
The contract begins Wednesday and runs through Dec. 31. According to the agreement, Caissa will receive $935 'for each formerly enrolled OCPS student who re-enrolls in OCPS and attends a district operated school for 30 days.'
The firm is only paid if a student is brought back to OCPS. The district receives about $8,950 per student from the state, meaning OCPS would net about $8,000 per student recruited back to public schools.
So if 1,000 students return to OCPS, the district would net an additional $8 million from the state after paying the firm about $935,000.
Board member Stephanie Vanos said in a text message that she hopes the effort provides the district needed information on why some parents have left OCPS.
'My hope is that it enables the district to better understand why some families are choosing not to attend their public school and can help guide our decisions and allocation of resources in the future,' she wrote.
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