Tuesday, Sept. 8, the Leon School District passed a $629 million budget for the 2026-27 school year. That's $18 million less than the current year, but one school board member believes even more cuts are needed.
School Board Member Alva Smith says, for the first time since joining the board, she'd vote against the new budget. Her main objection? Too many administrative staff.
"Our enrollment numbers continue to decrease, our revenue continues to decrease and in my mind, we haven't made the tough decisions that we need to make to do the very best for our students, our teachers and our support staff."
But fellow Board Member Rosanne Wood countered administrators are critical to school operations.
"Administrators do that by dealing with families, angry parents sometimes, questioning parents, students who are upset and teachers who need some help."
The final vote was 4-to-1 in favor of the new budget with Smith being the sole "no" vote.
