Public school enrollment numbers will continue to dip statewide and in Alachua County during the 2009-10 school year, according to the latest state numbers.

Projections released earlier in June showed Alachua County's enrollment - including charter schools - dropping for the third straight school year.The projected enrollment is 26,900 students - down about 1.5 percent from 27,293 students during the 2008-09 school year. Since the 2006-07 school year, Alachua County's enrollment is down 1,344 students, or almost 5 percent.

Despite a state budget that would boost funding slightly for higher education, the University of Florida still is expecting to make significant cuts.

The proposed state budget makes $49 million in cuts to UF's funding but uses federal stimulus money to make up for the shortfall. Because the stimulus money runs out in two years, UF officials still plan to make cuts that could mean layoffs and program eliminations.

"The stabilization money is meant to be a bridge across this economic crisis," UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said. "We just don't know what's at the end of the bridge."

Enrollment in public schools is on the decline statewide, and the trend is even more pronounced in Alachua County.

From 2007-08 to this school year, statewide student enrollment numbers dropped by nearly 25,000 to 2,620,801, Florida Department of Education numbers show.

That's the lowest number since 2004.

Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said factors in the statewide enrollment reduction include a decline in the state's birthrate throughout the first half of the 1990s.

The Florida Price Level Index (FPLI), established by the Legislature as the basis for the District Cost Differential (DCD) in the Florida Education Finance Program, is used to represent the costs of hiring equally qualified personnel across school districts.

This report presents and discusses the 2005 editions of the Florida County Retail Price Index (FCRPI) and the Florida County Wage Index (FCWI), produced by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) at the University of Florida.

In a darkened classroom at Gainesville High, nearly 30 students sit at computer screens as teacher Tony Malo explains how to grab a picture from the Internet and post it to a Web page.

This is an introductory Web design class and, after this rudimentary exercise, the students will move on to designing Web pages and creating graphics and logos.

"I want to get these kids marketable," Malo said. "I want to show them skills that they can use to go out and make money."

For the third straight year, enrollment dropped in Palm Beach County's public schools, a change administrators blame on South Florida's high cost of living, faltering economy and shaky real estate market.

After years of struggling to keep up with increasing enrollment, administrators now warn that for the next few years a lower student population could bring unwanted consequences, including delayed construction projects and fewer elective classes.

Established by the Legislature as the basis for the District Cost Differential (DCD) in the Florida Education Finance Program, the Florida Price Level Index (FPLI) is used to represent the costs of hiring equally qualified personnel across school districts.

Established by the Legislature as the basis for the District Cost Differential (DCD) in the Florida Education Finance Program, the Florida Price Level Index (FPLI) is used to represent the costs of hiring equally qualified personnel across school districts.

In this report, we consider the accuracy and appropriateness of several aspects of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) – the Florida Price Level Index (FPLI), the Sparsity Adjustment, and Discretionary Millage.