ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools says a private recruitment company has helped the district bring back students who previously left for private, charter or home schooling.
District leaders say the effort has helped offset enrollment declines and boost state funding.
In April, the district confirmed it was outsourcing its student recruitment efforts. Now, district leaders say that strategy has been successful enough that they are considering renewing the contract next year.
According to the school district, the contract signed with Caissa K-12 runs through December 31st.
District leaders say as a result of the contract 1,932 students who were previously enrolled with OCPS, but left the district, have returned.
“The idea is we get them back in, show the parents and show the students the amazing programs and the opportunities we have, and keep them,” said Scott Howat, Chief Communications Officer for Orange County Public Schools.
Caissa K-12 specializes in recruiting students who left the district for private, charter or home schooling. Howat said the return on investment comes down to simple math.
The district receives about $9,000 in state funding for every student enrolled, amounting to roughly $13 million in additional revenue from the 1,932 students recruited by Caissa.
As payment, Caissa receives just over $900 for every student recruited and enrolled with the district for at least 30 days. The district hasn’t paid Caissa yet, but will be writing a check totaling about $1.8 million.
“Caissa has about 40 individuals that work on that team, that do all of the work that they do… I think to add 40 additional people to a marketing team would be a lot more than 1.8 million,” Howat said.
The district is now considering renewing the contract once it expires in December.
Though some believe the outsourced costs could be utilized elsewhere in the district.
“That’s a huge chunk of funding,” said School Board Member, Alicia Farrant, “I’m a mom of five kids, very frugal. We’ve got to be very careful with how we’re spending our money.”
School board member Alicia Farrant, said she was cautiously optimistic about recruitment numbers but questioned whether students recruited by Caissa remain enrolled beyond the required 30 days for the company to receive payment. She said she does not support renewing the contract and would prefer to see existing staff focus on recruitment.
“We have an incredible team at the district. I believe our district team could be doing the same exact thing. For obviously less of a price,” Farrant said.
Ahead of the 2025-2026 school year, the district said enrollment declined by just over 6,000 students.
The district noted their percent decline was less than other similarly sized districts in Florida.
The district said a possible extension of the Caissa contract will be discussed by the school board in December.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
