MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Jose Dotres said on Wednesday that the district will be able to sustain staffing expenses as planned for the 2025-26 school year despite a decrease in student enrollment that was higher than anticipated.
Dotres said there was a decrease in students of about 4% from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Florida’s public school funding is directly linked to student enrollment.
“Not one teacher is going to be let go,” Dotres said.
Dotres said that the projections on enrollment decreases prompted school principals to be very conservative on hiring, and the school district still has a list of vacancies and ongoing recruitment efforts.
Dotres stood in front of a television displaying charts that reported the district had projected there would be 5,000 fewer students, and the projection was off by 8,000.
M-DCPS reported there was a decrease of about 13,060 students since there were nearly 326,280 when the 2024-25 school year started, and 313,220 enrolled for the 2025-26 school year.
“That number will continue to decrease day by day,” Dotres said about the hundreds who were still enrolling this week.
Dotres said a decrease of about 2,000 fewer kindergarteners was attributed to declining birth rates. He added that although the causes for the “no shows” were still under investigation with phone calls and house visits, the district did not consider that there was a “pattern of fear” to be a cause.
Undocumented migrants who rely on tuition-free education for their kids in Miami-Dade County face an ongoing state and federal government push for deportations. There have also been changes to migrants’ temporary protected status.
Dotres also cited the high cost of living and a “significant decrease” in “newcomers” to the decrease in enrollment. During his presentation in English and Spanish, Dotres stood next to a “M-DCPS Your Best Choice” banner.
The Florida Department of Education has been increasingly using taxpayers’ funds that were formerly allocated to traditional public schools to fund “School Choice” initiatives.
It started through charter schools, some of which are operated by for-profit companies under the school districts, and it continues through scholarship vouchers for private schools.
The M-DCPS choice programs not related to private schools include specialized magnet schools, parent choice to request exclusions on area limits, and career academies.
“These narratives that we get from the parents that did not show up really help us even develop choice programs,” Dotres said.
Meanwhile, Broward County Public Schools released detailed data on the district’s 10th-day enrollment count showing a decrease of nearly 4.7%. The data showed that the decrease impacted district schools significantly more than charter schools.
BCPS district schools had a decrease of 10,360 students. There were 198,362 on the 2024-25 school year’s 10th day, and there were 188,002 enrolled on the 2025-26 school year’s 10th day.
BCPS charter schools had a decrease of 1,009 students. There were 49,555 on the 2024-25 school year’s 10th day, and there were 48,546 enrolled on the 2025-26 school year’s 10th day.
M-DCPS did not release detailed data. The M-DCPS superintendent used X to describe a roundtable discussion he hosted on Wednesday as very productive.
BCPS will be holding the Benchmark Day Enrollment Count on Sept. 8.
I had a very productive roundtable discussion with members of the media today about @MDCPS’ enrollment. I appreciate the thoughtful questions and the opportunity for open dialogue. We're committed to a strong future for all of our students and staff. pic.twitter.com/Y3Rlt3PulS
— Jose L. Dotres, Ed.D. (@SuptDotres) August 27, 2025
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