According to 2025-26 data published by the Florida Department of Education, the Leon County School District (LCS) maintains a higher ratio of administrators and non-instructional staff to student population when compared to both the Florida average and the average of comparable school districts (See table nearby). These higher ratios translate to more employees and has significant financial implications for the district. For example, if LCS operated with the same non-instructional staff to student ratios as the average of Florida’s 67 school districts, LCS would employ approximately 130 less staff.
Peer Group Analysis
But what about school districts with comparable student enrollment and that are in the same region of Florida?
A comparison of five similarly sized Florida school districts (See table below) shows Leon County Schools employs significantly more administrators and non-instructional staff than most of its peers, despite having a student population nearly identical to several neighboring districts.
The Florida department of Education data provides a standardized comparison among districts and their peers, offering a snapshot of how Leon County’s staffing levels compare with those across the state during the 2025-26 school year. The FDOE administrator category includes principals, assistant principals, and deans. The non-instructional category includes social workers, school psychologists and school counselors.
According to 2025-26 staffing data, Leon County Schools serves 30,964 students, making it the second-largest district among the comparison group behind Okaloosa County, which enrolls 31,055 students. Despite the similar enrollment figures, Leon County employs 211 administrators, substantially more than Okaloosa’s 144 administrators. These 211 adminstrators include 81 assistant principals TR has previously reported on.
Leon also exceeds Santa Rosa County’s 110 administrators and Alachua County’s 173 administrators. Only Bay County, with 222 administrators serving 27,126 students, reports a higher administrative total. The disparity is even greater among non-teacher instructional and support staff. Leon County employs 415 noninstructional personnel, the highest total among the five districts.
By comparison, Santa Rosa and Alachua counties each employ 248 non-teacher staff members, Bay County employs 239, and Okaloosa County employs 226.
The average number of administrators and non-teacher instructional staff for the Leon’s peer group is 403. This is 224 staff members less than the numbers reported by LCS.
The staffing comparison comes as school districts across Florida face budget pressures tied to enrollment trends and increased scrutiny of administrative spending. The figures come as LCS continues to confront declining student enrollment, a trend that reduces state funding because Florida’s education formula is largely based on student counts. Critics have argued that administrative growth has outpaced enrollment trends and have called for closer scrutiny of staffing levels outside the classroom. Supporters of the district’s staffing structure contend that modern school systems require specialized personnel to manage student services, accountability requirements, technology, safety initiatives, and other operational responsibilities that have expanded in recent years.
The staffing comparisons are likely to attract additional attention as district leaders evaluate budget priorities and as community members debate proposals involving school funding and operational efficiency.
LCS Addresses Staffing Issue
During the last school board meeting, elected officials voted 4-1 to approve the placement of a 1 mil property tax increase on the November ballot. If passed by the voters, the tax would raise approximately $24 million. After the vote, Chair Marcus Nicolas acknowledged the concern about staffing but took the position that the tax increase and the “administrative structure” were not connected. The board scheduled a workshop to address the issue.
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