During the Leon County School Board agenda review meeting on Monday, elected officials responded with support and frustration to Superintendent Hanna’s recommendation to cut $7.8 million from the 2026/27 budget. Hanna’s Presentation Hanna announced during his presentation, that he has chan ged his recommendation related to closing the LCS virtual school. Hanna said he and his staff are looking at a different model to lower costs and will look at offering courses with the greatest demand. Hanna told the Board his plan includes $2.38 million in cuts related to district expenses by consolidating positions and realigning responsibilities, Hanna recommended $4.8 million in cuts to the staffing plans in schools. He said the approach will include working with school principals to make staffing adjustments and to monitor student enrollment to determine if staffing or resource changes are needed. Hanna noted that current financial challenges are due in part to the 150 positions that were original funded by the federal government during COVID and now are the responsibility of LCS. These positions have been cut, but 60 positions have been retained. Hanna also stated that arts and athletics would be cut by 50% ($500,000) as would and community group funding ($125,000). Smith: Extremely Frustrated Board member Alva Smith, who has called for school closures due to drops in student population, said the recommendations amounted to a band-aid when we need major surgery. She asked, why does consolidation make sense to me and no one else? Smith has noted that student enrollment has dropped by 5,000 students over the last five years, and demographic trends indicate these drops will continue. She also noted a number of schools that are at or below 70% capacity. Board Chair Markus Nicolas explained to Ms. Smith that he did believe the numbers she has presented over the last two years warrant school closures. Nicolas indicated that his research on the issue found that capacities below 20-30% would lead to school closures. Board member Wood agreed with Hanna’s recommendations and stated that the approach “more of a scapple than a sledgehammer.” Hanna, commended Smith for bringing up the issue, but concluded that the impact of school enrollment is something we have to monitor. He added that other districts made decision with lower capacity numbers and stated we just disagree about the timing. Recommended 26/27 Budget Reductions District Cost Center Reduction (5.67%) – $2,381,310 Staffing Plan Reduction (2.3%) – $4,800,048 Arts and Athletics Reduction (50%) – $500,000 Community Groups (50%) – $125,000 TOTAL  $7,806,358 ...read more read less