Osceola School District Explores Hiring Consultant to Boost Public School Re-Enrollment Amid Charter and Private School Competition

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – In an effort to boost enrollment, the Osceola County School District is contemplating the engagement of a third-party consultant. The initiative, aimed at enticing families to re-enroll their children in district schools, could potentially involve a cost of $935 per returning student.

In recent years, public schools across Florida have experienced a decline in student enrollment. This trend can be attributed to lower birth rates and the expansion of the state’s school voucher program, which offers families more educational choices.

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is already feeling the impact, with plans to close seven schools due to dwindling student numbers. In response, OCPS partnered last year with Caissa K12, a consulting firm, to launch a campaign designed to attract families back to traditional public education.

[WATCH: Orange schools face $25M shortfall after enrollment drops nearly 7K students]

Following in these footsteps, Osceola County is considering a similar strategy, potentially collaborating with the same consultancy firm.

This Tuesday, the Osceola County school board will cast their votes on whether to proceed with a contract that mirrors OCPS’s arrangement, agreeing to pay the consulting firm $935 for each student they successfully bring back to the district.

Here’s how it works: the consultant would reach out to families who have left the district to homeschool or for charter and private schools to try to encourage them to re-enroll.

Based on the numbers, if 1,000 students re-enroll, that could cost nearly $1 million.

But Caissa K12 claims the return on investment is much larger. On its website, it posted recruiting examples that describe a large return on investment for districts. In one example, the company states that if 150 students return, a district would see $840,750.

In the proposed agreement for Osceola County, the company’s approach is described as “success-based,” listing potential benefits such as increased enrollment, additional state funding tied to students and potential boosts to employee retention and morale.

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