This article is in my opinion a load of BS. I haven't noticed any hint that population growth is leveling off here in Orlando, or that families are moving out. And they've built vast numbers of homes since school ended last spring.
My suspicion is that families are pulling their kids out of public schools, and putting them in private schools. I notice that there is no mention of private school enrollment in the article. The education establishment feels that it's got to come up with an explanation of the "missing kids" that does not admit their failings, though.
The public schools here in Fla. are among the worst in the nation. But we've been celebrating of late because all of Jeb's hard work on education has raised our standing nationwide from 49 to 48.
What they really need is a complete facelift for the schools.
I admit that I don't live in Florida but I have a cousin who does. She told me that many of her friends with kids are moving out but it is because of high property taxes. One is moving to our town (Raleigh, NC).
Ping.
Don't forget us FL home schoolers!
I'm surprised with the illegal alien population in Florida that this would be happening.
My first thought too. I have no experience with Florida, but nation-wide private (especially Christian) schools are increasing.
Sounds like something written by anyother clueless MSM so-called "reporter".
Families are fleeing Upstate NY. In our case, it's 'Rat and RINO run government.
And they have to ask where the kids went? Educrats are SOOOOOO clueless.
My new neighbors are from Palm Beach county. They are newlyweds with child and coudn't afford Florida. I'm in TN.
I too know that some of the families are now grouping and doing home schooling to keep their children from the public school atmosphere.
This exact same phenomenon occurred twenty years ago in California. As neighborhoods mature, the kids grow up and the parents stay in their neighborhoods, so naturally the school population declines. Let's face it, "blue-haired Q-Tips" don't have school children! Add the hurricane damages from the past two years, higher insurance rates, and home schooling, it is easy to see that
When discussing Florida, one must pay very close attention to what counties are being discussed. The article specifically mentions Palm Beach, Broward, Orange (Orlando), and Hillsborough (Tampa) counties. The exurban growth, which drives the demand for more government schools, has stretched beyond the limits of these counties and into the neighboring ones. Clay, St Johns, Seminole, Lake, Polk, Pascoe and St Lucie Counties are experiencing strong growth and high pressure on both government and non-government schools.
"This article is in my opinion a load of BS. I haven't noticed any hint that population growth is leveling off here in Orlando, or that families are moving out. And they've built vast numbers of homes since school ended last spring."
It may be true in your area of Orlando, but apparently the rate of student enrollment is flat or decreasing in other counties and cities. That is, there is still new student growth but not at the same rate.
"My suspicion is that families are pulling their kids out of public schools, and putting them in private schools. "
Private schools are also losing enrollment nationwide, according to WSJ in another article. Some of that loss is to public schools, per WSJ, because perceived differences between academic performance in some public schools is achieving parity with some private schools. You can Google and find some local references, too.
I grew up in South Miami/Gables area in the 70's. It was a Tom Sawyer life back then.
You couldn't pay me enough to move back there now.
Could it have anything to do with Fla. being a 'retirement' destination? Old folks don't have kids?
Just a hunch that they're all moving from Blue areas to Red areas.
No, that is not the case. There are not enough private schools here in Hillsborough County to come anywhere close to accounting for the public school enrollment drop.
My wife is an elementary school teacher in Tampa. Elementary school enrollment has dropped the most. The enrollment drop caught Hillsborough County by surprise, and there has been a lot of shuffling of teacher assets in the last month as the school administration has come to accept the reality of the situation. (Last spring the school administration was expecting increases in enrollment this year and calling for new taxes.)
Just three months ago, the Hillsborough County school administration was claiming that there would be a teacher shortage this year. However, they now find themselves with a surplus of teachers. Of course, since it's a government operation, no permanent teachers can lose their jobs, but many have a lot less work to do.
As someone who lives in Florida, I can assure you that young families are leaving the state, and the reasons are high rent and home prices, soaring property taxes and soaring home and auto insurance costs.
My real estate taxes are around $5,000 per year, but if I sold my home, the buyer would be faced with a tax bill of almost $15,000 per year. My home insurance has doubled in the last year, and I don't live in a high-risk hurricane area.
In short, Florida is much less affordable for many families who only five years ago would have found Florida quite affordable.
"My suspicion is that families are pulling their kids out of public schools, and putting them in private schools."
We homeschool in Florida but recently we moved from one county to another several hours away and our realtor and everyone else we spoke to told us we were 'okay' moving into this county because we homeschool. We were warned repeatedly that the school system here is really bad and we would need to put our kids in private school if we didn't homeschool.
But hasn't the situation with the schools been the same for years? Why would this trend just appear now, if your theory is correct?