Throughout the Strategic Budget Realignment process, the School District of Lee County has remained committed to providing factual information. Today, we are releasing preliminary staffing totals and these figures will continue to shift in the days and weeks ahead.
The natural attrition of teachers separating from the School District is the lowest in at least six years. As recently as Fiscal Year 2023, natural attrition accounted for 924 teachers separating from the School District at the end of the school year. Natural attrition includes retirements, resignations, performance, and certification-related departures. As the attached chart demonstrates, in FY 2026, the current number of separations from natural attrition for teachers is 407. The number of non-renewals for teachers in FY 2026 for budgetary reasons is 275. Even when combined, the total number of separations in FY 2026 is the smallest in five years.
Among all employee groups representing 11,626 employees, the School District issued 457 non-renewals for budgetary reasons. The window for contract non-renewals closed on May 11. Effectively, 96% of the workforce will be maintained in the 2026-2027 school year.
The School District fully expects some of the non-renewed positions to be preserved or reallocated in the coming weeks. 122 vacant teaching positions have already been identified for the 2026-2027 school year. A year ago at this time, the number of vacant teaching positions was 575. These positions are available due to the natural attrition of employees transitioning out of the School District and positions eliminated at one school could be available at another.
All eligible employees are encouraged to explore those opportunities through the district’s standard application process. Most employee assignments within the School District of Lee County are governed by the terms of negotiated employment agreements, which outline a defined process for how positions are filled by qualified candidates.
The School District is navigating what many school systems across the country are facing: declining enrollment in some areas within our county. As the table below illustrates, the School District of Lee County is not alone in this challenge to reduce staffing. With a net loss of nearly 2,000 students from a year ago in February, that would be the equivalent of two 1,000-student schools that are no longer needed from a staffing perspective.
In addition to enrollment decline and lower birth rates, rising costs for goods and services, and legacy spending (historical automatic rollover budgeting practices), there is a clear need to align staffing at each school with the students actually walking through its doors. That work is at the heart of the Strategic Budget Realignment. The primary goal, attained through this realignment, is to protect classroom instruction while supporting our staff. By right-sizing the budget now, the School District is ensuring it remains strong, resilient, and fully equipped to serve students.
