JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County schools are set to lose $3.2 million from a state fund that pays for Advanced Placement, IB and similar programs – money that helps students save on college costs and keeps those classes running.
School Board Member Cindy Pearson raised the alarm in a Facebook post, highlighting the impact of the “Academic Acceleration Options Supplement,” a fund created last year after similar cuts threatened the same programs.
“We were told we weren’t gonna lose money. It was just gonna be a different system. And now we know the different system has created a loss in funds,” Pearson said.
Despite more students passing exams last year, that success has actually reduced Duval County’s payout from a fixed pot of state money. Because hundreds more students passed exams than expected, the district’s per-student share of the fixed fund shrank – costing Duval roughly $871 per student.
Wolfson High School senior Jarrett Kelley said he hopes the programs are protected.
“I certainly hope that this is not something that’s taken away from students because I know for me personally, it’s gonna save me $20,000 on college,” Kelley said.
Last year, school districts across Florida faced millions of dollars in funding cuts for programs like Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, AICE and Career and Technical Education. Students like Kelley were among those who fought those cuts – and now, the fight is back.
“Well, to be honest with you, I wasn’t entirely shocked. Last year, we felt as if we did enough to ensure this wouldn’t happen again and to ensure that we really spread the message about how important these programs are. And we thought that Tallahassee understood,” Kelley said.
Pearson said the budget loss puts principals in a difficult position – even when their students have exceeded performance expectations.
“The principals get their share based on student performance. And when you have a decrease in budget, you have to make budget decisions. And so that will be up to the principals to determine what they’re gonna do with less funds, even though their students exceeded performance estimates,” Pearson said.
There is still time to influence this year’s budget. Lawmakers are expected to return to Tallahassee later this month to finalize the budget.
Pearson is urging parents, students and community members to contact their elected representatives directly.
“I would highly recommend anybody who’s invested in the acceleration funds or in students or student achievement reach out to their elected representatives, also to the education committee and to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. And ask them to put more money in the Academic Accelerated Options supplement and ask them to keep pace with student achievement,” Pearson said.
Below is a list of local lawmakers to contact. There’s further contact information also listed on the city website.
Senators
Clay Yarborough – Yarborough.Clay.web@flsenate.gov
Tracie Davis – Davis.Tracie.web@flsenate.gov
Representatives
Wyman Duggan District 12 – Wyman.Duggan@myfloridahouse.gov
Angie Nixon District 12 – Angie.Nixon@myfloridahouse.gov
Kimberley Daniels District 14 – Kimberly.Daniels@myfloridahouse.gov
Dean Black District 15 – Dean.Black@flhouse.gov
Kiyan Michael District 16 – Kiyan.Michael@flhouse.gov
Jessica Baker District 17 – Jessica.Baker@flhouse.gov
Pearson also shared a list of lawmakers to contact:
President Ben Albritton, Senate President – albritton.ben.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Jim Boyd, Majority Leader – boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Lori Berman, Minority Leader – berman.lori.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Corey Simon, Committee Chair, Education Prek-12 – simon.corey.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Alexis Calatyud, Committee Vice Chair, Education Prek-12 – calatyud.alexis.web@flsenate.gov
Speaker Daniel Perez, Speaker of the House – Daniel.Perez@flhouse.gov
Rep Tyler Sirois, House Majority Leader – Tyler.Sirois@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep Fentrice Driskell, House Minority Leader – Fentrice.Driskell@flhouse.gov
Rep Jennifer Canady, Chair, Education and Employment Committee – Jennifer.Canady@flhouse.gov
Rep Taylor Michael Yarkosky, Vice Chair, Education and Employment Committee – Taylor.Yarkosky@flhouse.gov
Rep Jenna Persons-Mulicka, Chair, Pre-K Budget Subcommittee – Jenna.Persons@flhouse.gov
Rep Dana Trabulsy, Vice Chair, Pre-K Budget Subcommittee – dana.trabulsy@flhouse.gov
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