SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Leon County School Board met on Monday to address declining student enrollment, rising health insurance costs, and a potential 1-mill property tax referendum.
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The Leon County School Board spent Monday afternoon discussing possible solutions to some of the district's biggest challenges, including student enrollment, rising health insurance costs, and a possible property tax increase.
With student enrollment declining, board members heard a presentation from Caissa K-12, a company that specializes in student recruitment and retention for public school districts.
The company contacts families who have unenrolled their children or never enrolled them in public school through phone calls, texts, digital outreach, and door-to-door visits.
Caissa operates on a performance-based model, with districts paying per student who returns or enrolls. Caissa President Adrian Bond said the program could help stabilize enrollment while also creating local outreach jobs.
"Those families that have previously attended, we tend to have a little bit more higher success engaging those families and bringing them back, but we've had instances where some districts that number was higher on those that never attended the district because some of those family just were not aware of some of the programs that the district had."
All board members responded positively, and Superintendent Rocky Hanna said he will continue working with the company before bringing the item back for a possible vote at the end of May.
Board members also reviewed information about the Florida Educator Health Trust, or FLEHT, a nonprofit insurance trust created to help school districts lower long-term health care costs. Officials said the program is designed to give districts more buying power, greater cost stability, and long-term savings through a self-insured model.
Board members asked for more details and requested that the organization consider speaking directly with employees for input.
Much of Monday's discussion centered on draft language for a possible 1-mill property tax referendum that could appear on the November 2026 ballot. Board member Alva Swafford Smith raised concerns about the proposal.
"I am concerned about the fact that we've included school security in this, as we know our half cent includes funding that goes towards security."
The referendum would allow the district to levy an additional 1-mill property tax for four years starting July 1st, 2027.
The Leon County School Board is expected to vote on a final revised version of the proposed millage referendum resolution on May 28th, before sending it to the county commission for possible placement on the November 2026 ballot.
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