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💼 $478K in staffing cuts target administrative positions to preserve school-level resources.
🏫 Capital funds shifted to cover $15M in transportation costs and balance operational needs.
🏛️ Superintendent and board salaries set by state, not local negotiation, amid public scrutiny.
Faced with a tight financial outlook and rising operational costs, Okaloosa County school officials held their first budget hearing, where members poured over a proposed budget that trims staff positions, redirects capital funds, and reconfigures several departments — all to maintain classroom resources while closing a growing fiscal gap.
Superintendent Marcus Chambers set the tone early, describing this year’s budgeting process as “unprecedented” and underscoring the district’s challenge in absorbing back-to-back years of major financial adjustments.
“Anytime when you come off the heels of last year, where we made adjustments to the budget to the tune of approximately $13 million and this year in the six to seven million dollar range as well,” he said, “difficult choices have to be made.”
District officials outlined a budget plan that keeps the system in the black, though not without sacrifices. The proposal includes a $478,000 reduction in departmental positions and various staffing adjustments.
However, Chambers and were quick to stress that the cuts were focused on administrative areas, not the schools themselves.
“We are going to have a balanced budget despite the budget challenges we’re facing,” Perry told the board.
A large portion of the workshop focused on staffing — what was added, what was removed, and what is still in flux. Some changes included:
In many cases, district officials clarified that perceived “new hires” were either position replacements or had filled long-standing vacancies.
“One job that we filled was a vacant position,” Chambers explained. “The other job… turned out to be a savings.”
Perry also emphasized how salary increases, insurance changes, and state retirement adjustments had been f+actored in, creating a complex financial landscape even before accounting for program needs.
“All in all, to be able to hold it to a two percent [increase] is good,” she said, referring to department-level discretionary budgets.
To help offset operational shortfalls, the district will once again transfer money from its capital budget — typically used for facilities — into operations. In particular, transportation will receive support this way.
“The state gives us seven point something million for transportation, but transportation costs 15 million,” Perry noted. “So we’re able to help the general fund budget out by using some Capital money.”
One subtle but notable area of savings came from consolidating services at the Niceville Central Complex, where moving operations into a single facility has reduced electricity and telephone costs by several thousand dollars.
Elsewhere, a decision to eliminate the district’s “bus bulletin” software and replace it with an in-house system will also result in cost savings. In another department, fingerprinting costs for chaperones were increased to reflect actual expenses.
The workshop also included a detailed walk-through of each department’s personnel, with some board members requesting clarification on job duties and staffing needs. At one point, concerns were raised about whether four district-level secretaries in human resources were essential.
“They all have their individual job categories that they support,” Perry responded. “Each person kind of has a siled area of responsibilities… like one is responsible for substitutes.”
Not all increases were discretionary. Some positions — particularly in school safety — were mandated by law, officials said.
“There are jobs that are in the district that were created because the law told us to create these positions,” one board member explained. “School safety was, of course, one of them.”
Salary increases for Superintendent Marcus Chambers and members of the school board also came up during the meeting, though officials made clear that those raises are not within local control.
“The superintendent’s salary, just like your salaries, are all dictated by the state,” Perry explained. “We have to use the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research annual report [to determine] how much to pay.”
Board members reiterated that neither Chambers nor the board had negotiated raises.
“When people say, ‘Well, Mr. Chambers is getting this big raise?’ Well, that’s because the state has implemented [it],” said School Board Chair Lamar White. “It wasn’t that we negotiated a contract with him, like you would with an appointed superintendent.”
Monday’s meeting marked the beginning of a series of meetings that will span until September 8, when the Okaloosa County School Board finalizes the 2025-26 budget.
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