ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — St. Lucie County Public Schools open for students on Aug. 10, and WPTV's Port St. Lucie reporter Tyler Hatfield spoke to the school district about what families can expect this year.
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Families are already preparing for the first-day. Jovani Taylor said he has been getting his daughter, Jayla, ready for the new school year.
"Purchase school supplies for books, clothing for school," Taylor said.
Jayla said she is looking forward to fourth grade.
"I'm very excited," Jayla said.
Another parent, Julia Lopez, said her daughter will be starting VPK. Julia also noted the district's growth firsthand.
"I see schools like almost every corner," Julia said.
WPTV’s Tyler Hatfield sat down with Superintendent Jon Prince ahead of the first day of school.
"We're ready to kick it off," Prince said.
To keep up with growth, the district has been building new schools. Tradition Lakes K-8 is the newest, welcoming students in western St. Lucie County.
"We know in the Tradition area there, that's an area of very, very expansive growth," Prince said.
Despite that growth, Prince said enrollment is expected to be flat this year at 42,505 students. Over the past seven years, enrollment has increased by 7 percent, but Prince attributes this year's plateau to more families choosing homeschooling or private schools.
"There are so many options for families right now that makes it a little bit uncertain where our enrollment is going to be when the first day starts," Prince said.
Last year, the state projected an increase of 350 students, but the district instead lost 150, costing it around $14 million in state and federal funding.
This year's tentative district budget is $1.07 billion, nearly $60 million less than last year's final budget.
"We had a significant number of cuts. Most of them did not directly impact schools. Most of them were at the district level," Prince said.
Prince said no staff were laid off but were instead moved to other positions.
Even with the budget cuts, the district is adding new programs. Two new courses focused on artificial intelligence will be available to students this year at Legacy High School.
"We need to provide an avenue based on future legislation as to what that's going to look like for students if they're interested in that field of work," Prince said.
