Florida education commissioner slams St. Johns County superintendent, cites teacher allegations over funding comments

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a sharply worded letter to St. Johns County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen on Friday, citing teachers’ allegations that Asplen urged staff to target named legislators with complaints about a scholarship program and to vote those lawmakers out — allegedly said at a meeting at Osceola Elementary this month.

News4JAX spoke to Asplen on Friday after he received the letter. He said he planned to write a response, and added that he has spoken to people at every school about funding shortfalls, and only told people to reach out to their lawmakers with any questions or concerns, not to vote them out.

“I am just trying to be transparent,” Asplen said, adding that he’s not sure why he’s being singled out.

Kamoutsas calls the alleged comments inappropriate political pressure on a school campus, but added that his department hasn’t opened a formal professional-practices case because complainants won’t sign statements out of fear of retaliation.

Kamoutsas argues the superintendent’s funding claims are wrong—pointing to higher per-pupil funding and enrollment growth, plus a base allocation “over $455M.”

“Florida families deserve leaders who can make tough decisions without casting blame,” Kamoutsas wrote on X. “Accountability matters!”

In February, the St. Johns County School District said it was bracing for the potential of a big budget gap next school year.

The district said then it could be in a deficit between $10 and $15 million for the 2026-2027 school year. Asplen said Friday that the number could get as high as $23 million.

Asplen, who is in his first year as superintendent, says continued growth in the county, a shift in state funding, and not being able to keep up with inflation are some of the factors driving the district further into the negative.

Asplen says the district got $28 million for this school year from the state, which was the most it’s ever gotten. That number comes from the cost for each student to attend school, which is more than $9,100 — $185 more than last year.

But he said more than $10 million of that money had to go toward Family Empowerment Scholarships, which are vouchers parents can use to send their kids to charter schools or for homeschooling.

Asplen said more than 1,000 vouchers were issued this year, funneling the money per student out of the district’s budget.

Other expenses include student transportation, utilities, cleaning, security, medical insurance, and state-funded teacher salary increases.

Asplen said that $1.7 million went to pay raises for the 3,500 teachers in the district.

In addition, the district had to give raises to other employees in the district from its own budget, which was not funded by the state.

Those salary increases were for positions like custodians, bus drivers and maintenance workers.

To try to deal with the overall budget deficit, the district said it had to make cuts and is expected to continue making moves, including freezing non-critical vacant district positions and reducing district department out-of-county travel.

Asplen said he wants the state to consider public and private schools either having to follow the same rules or even decrease the voucher amounts to ensure public schools remain sustainable.