ORLANDO, Fla. — As school districts prepare for the upcoming school year, students and families can expect drastic changes to classrooms. And those costs are quickly adding up.

Those differences include personal protective equipment, or PPE, for students and staff; more cleaning supplies; and added technology for remote learning.

Osceola County School District Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace said coronavirus pandemic-related costs have already surpassed $6.7 million.

Lake County School District Superintendent Diane Kornegay told Spectrum News 13 that her district has already spent about $100,000 on PPE and an additional $100,000 on cleaning supplies.

In Volusia County, school district Chief Financial Officer Debra Muller anticipates spending about $5.1 million on pandemic-related resources alone.

And in Brevard County, Superintendent Dr. Mark Mullins also anticipates investing millions of dollars over the course of the school year.

“Those costs are piling up,” Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins said.

Under the federal CARES Act, school districts are receiving funding to help offset those extra costs. The funding is based on full-time student enrollment and need.

“You need to consider that of the almost 13,000 students we have, not all of them are full-time students," Flagler County School District Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt said. "Some of them might also take a reduced role. You don’t get a full FTE (full-time credit) for that student.”

While the pandemic could impact student enrollment, officials say there is larger financial fear when it comes to funding.

“Our greatest concern is that we will also have a shortfall of revenue at the state level because of what this pandemic is doing to our economy,” Jenkins said.

Superintendents say without additional federal funding, cuts could be on the horizon.

“To say that the CARES Act dollars that we currently have will last all year makes me very, very nervous," Pace said. "I feel very confident where we are through December. But after that, we know we may have some very difficult decisions ahead.”

Seminole County School District officials did not respond to our interview requests by our deadline. Instead, a spokesperson sent us a link to the school board’s CARES Act presentation.

Pandemic Impact on School Budgets

It’s an ever-changing situation, but according to Central Florida superintendents who spoke to Spectrum News 13, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on school budgets is significant.

“How significant of an investment is this compared to any other venture? It is a significant investment. While we have a $1.3 billion dollar budget, and that seems like such a tremendous amount of money, I always tend to calculate expenses in terms of positions,” explained Osceola County School District Superintendent, Dr. Debra Pace.

Pace continued, “About $1 million is about nine teachers. When you talk about spending almost $7 million on supplies, you’re looking at 63 instructional positions that we would have potentially been able to add to our budget on the other hand. So it is a very significant investment. But our board has been determined to make safety a priority and not let the burden fall to our teachers or our families.”

As it stands now for the 2020-2021 Osceola County school year, the district is projecting that for the total budget:

• 45% will be paid for by the state
• 42% will be paid for by local funding sources
• 13% will be paid for by federal funding sources

If you take a look at the school district’s website, the operating budget by category goes into detail about where that funding will go. As you can imagine, there is no line item for “pandemic.”

The concern then is where does the district find that funding?

What about the local level? With the tourism industry at a standstill for months, Dr. Pace says last month alone, Osceola County had a 40% drop in sales tax collections.

What about at the state level? Florida’s tax revenue has also dramatically impacted by the drop in the tourism industry. That could impact the district’s state funding source.

Pace and other superintendents tell Spectrum News 13, that is why additional federal CARES Act funding is so crucial when it comes to keeping schools safely and successfully open for the entire upcoming academic year.

To date, Osceola County Public Schools has received just over $17.3 million in CARES Act funding for all schools, including private and charter schools.

Pace says she’s very nervous about being able to keep schools open safely and successfully without additional federal help.