State funding that once flowed to Miami-Dade County Public Schools is shifting to private school vouchers at a record pace, and Aventura's two city-run charter schools will feel the squeeze when classes resume later this month.
The district's $7.36 billion budget for 2026-27, tentatively adopted by the school board under Chair Mari Tere Rojas on Thursday, July 30, cuts operating expenses 3.6% and eliminates 168 positions. The primary driver: an estimated 82,500 Miami-Dade students now use Family Empowerment Scholarships to attend private schools, up more than 10,000 in a single year. About $766 million in state dollars will fund those vouchers, a $105 million jump from the prior year, the Miami Herald reported.
The budget documents attribute the state funding decrease "mostly due to" the growing number of families choosing vouchers over public and charter schools.
What it means for ACES and Don Soffer High
Aventura City of Excellence School and Don Soffer Aventura High School are charter schools governed by the City of Aventura. Both draw per-pupil funding through the same state formula as traditional public schools. When enrollment drops districtwide, the funding pot shrinks for everyone.
Charter school enrollment is projected to decline for the first time in Miami-Dade history, falling by more than 1,800 students to 86,400 countywide. The district's general fund budget for school operations is dropping 5.15%, from $2.53 billion to $2.4 billion. School-level enrollment figures for ACES and Don Soffer were not included in the budget documents.
Traditional public school enrollment is expected to fall another 8,000 students to 217,100. As we reported Monday, August 3, the district already closed nine schools this summer in response to the enrollment slide.
Fewer teachers, fewer dollars
The board approved eliminating 168 general fund positions, including 41 administrative and 19 instructional roles. The district projects paying $49 million less in salaries than last year, with $2.64 billion budgeted for compensation and benefits.
Teacher headcount has declined for a decade. Miami-Dade employed 18,275 teachers in 2017-18; last school year, that number was 15,322.
"If we lose $100 million, it's very difficult not to impact the classroom in some way," Chief Financial Officer Ron Steiger told WLRN in March, when the district was already projecting steep revenue losses.
Property tax referendum looms
The budget assumes voters will renew a dedicated school property tax this November. The district calculates that revenue at $569.5 million, with roughly 88% earmarked for instructional pay raises and 12% for security. Miami-Dade voters approved the levy by wide margins in 2018 and 2022.
A separate statewide homestead-exemption proposal on the same ballot would not affect school district levies, according to NBC Miami.
What's next
A second public hearing and final budget vote must occur before adoption is complete; the district has not announced that date. The ACES and Don Soffer Aventura High governing board last met May 21 and has not posted a summer meeting agenda. Families can track the schedule at dadeschools.net.
