数持续减少，佛罗里达州的公立学校正以创纪录的规模举债以支付各项开支。
Florida’s public schools are borrowing to pay their bills at the highest level on record as enrollment declines put pressure on their budgets.
据伦敦证券交易所集团提供的数据，今年该州各学区通过市政债券市场发行了14亿美元的短期债券，用于支付日常运营费用。这一数额较2025年全年增长了62%。
This year, school districts in the state have issued $1.4 billion in short-term notes via the municipal market to pay for operating expenses, a 62% increase compared to all of 2025, according to data from LSEG.
这类被称为“税收预期债券”的债务通常由地方政府发行，用以填补支付账单所需资金与实际税收收入到账之间的缺口。
The debt, known as tax-anticipation notes or TANs, is often issued by local and state governments to bridge the gap between when bills need to be paid and when tax revenue comes in.
惠誉评级的高级董事迈克尔·里纳尔迪指出：“大量或持续增加地发行税收预期债券可能反映出当地存在流动性或信用压力。这种依赖程度往往意味着预算结构存在缺口，或者年末现金储备不足。”
“Issuing tax anticipation notes in large or increasing amounts can indicate underlying liquidity or credit stress,” said Michael Rinaldi, a senior director at Fitch Ratings. “This reliance may signal a structural budget gap or lower year-end cash balances.”
由于出生率下降，全美各地的公立学校都面临着成本上升与入学人数减少的双重财务压力。疫情时期联邦援助的终止更是加剧了这些压力，导致各学区的信用评级受到负面影响。
Public schools around the country are facing growing financial strain due to rising costs and declining enrollment as the birth rate falls. The end of pandemic-era federal aid has exacerbated the pressures and weighed on school districts’ credit scores.
据9月份发布的一份报告，过去一年中，标普全球评级对各地学区的评级下调及负面调整次数，约为评级上调次数的三倍。
Over the past year, S&P Global Ratings’ downgrades and negative actions on school districts outnumbered upgrades by a ratio of about three to one, a September report said.
据这家评级机构分析，在佛罗里达州，教育选择计划的迅速推广以及唐纳德·特朗普总统实施的移民管控措施（尤其是在南佛罗里达地区）进一步加剧了入学人数下降的问题。
In Florida, the rapid growth of school choice programs has amplified the enrollment problem, as has President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially in south Florida, according to the rating firm.
尽管疫情以来该州人口数量大幅增长，但自2023年起公立学校的注册人数便持续下滑，导致各校获得的生均拨款也随之减少。
While the state’s population has skyrocketed since the pandemic, public school registration has been declining since 2023, lowering the amount of per-pupil funding schools receive.
今年5月，标普将该州规模最大的两个学区——迈阿密-戴德县与布劳沃德县的信用评级展望下调为负面，理由正是入学人数减少所带来的财务压力。这两个学区向来频繁发行税收预期债券，今年初也再次进行了此类发债操作。
In May, S&P revised its outlooks for the state’s two largest school systems to negative, citing the financial impact of falling enrollment. The districts, Miami-Dade and Broward, regularly issue TANs and did so earlier this year.
由于佛罗里达州不征收房产税或所得税——这两项税收在其他地区通常被用于教育事业——该州的学校面临着现金流压力。目前，大部分学校经费仍依赖地方房产税，但相关税款仅在每年11月至3月期间征收，而各学区全年的开支却从未间断。
Florida schools also have a cash flow challenge since the state doesn’t collect property or income tax, which often goes toward education in other jurisdictions. Instead, most school funding comes from local property tax, where bills are only paid between November and March despite districts’ year-round expenses.
在即将到来的11月选举中，佛罗里达州民众将就是否基本废除地方房产税进行投票，不过与教育相关的税收仍可继续征收。
Floridians will vote on whether to mostly eliminate local property tax in the upcoming November election, though school-related levies would be exempt.
据该学区公关负责人塔尼娅·阿尔贾介绍，为服务坦帕市的学生，希尔斯伯勒县公立学校今年7月首次发行了短期票据，将其作为“现金流管理工具”，用以在地方税收收入陆续到账前维持日常开支。
Hillsborough County Public Schools, which serves students in Tampa, issued TANs for the first time in July as a “cash flow management tool” to cover its expenses until the majority of revenue from local taxes comes in, said Tanya Arja, the district’s head of communications.
9月，惠誉评级将希尔斯伯勒县的信用评级展望下调至“负面”，理由是该县储备金持续减少，原因在于“学生数量下降导致相关收入减少，而各项开支却不断攀升”。
Fitch lowered Hillsborough’s outlook to negative in September, citing a decline in its reserves due to “continued operating pressure from enrollment-related revenue losses” against rising costs.
迈阿密格林伯格·特劳里格律师事务所的律师罗伯特·冈格表示：“这些因素多年来一直在累积，今年更是达到了相当严重的程度。”他长期协助各学区发行短期票据。
“It’s a combination of factors that have been building up over the past several years, but have really reached a significant level this year,” said Robert Gang, a Miami-based lawyer at Greenberg Traurig who works with schools on TANs.
自2023年罗恩·德桑蒂斯州长放宽州内教育选择计划的准入条件后，佛罗里达州公立学校的萎缩趋势愈发明显。
The shrinking of Florida’s public schools has accelerated since Governor Ron DeSantis opened up access to the state’s school choice programs in 2023.
过去，该计划的参与资格仅限特定收入水平的家庭或残疾学生，如今所有家庭均可使用公共资金送孩子就读私立学校或选择其他非公立教育方式。
Participation was once limited by income level or to students with disabilities, but now all families can use public dollars on private schools and other alternatives to public education.
迈克尔·帕克率领的标准普尔分析师团队在6月份发布的报告中写道：“佛罗里达州近期扩大了教育选择计划的范围，许多学区也纷纷做出运营调整以应对学生数量下降的局面，比如裁员和关闭学校。”
“Florida recently expanded its school choice program, and many districts are making operational adjustments to account for lower student counts, such as staff reductions and school closures,” S&P analysts led by Michael Parker wrote in a June report.
在下调希尔斯伯勒学区的评级展望时，惠誉分析师谭米·欧指出：“由于越来越多的学生选择各类替代性教育方式，导致公立学校传统生源数量持续减少，进而影响了州政府拨款。”根据佛罗里达州教育部最新审计报告，在2024-2025学年，该州通过多个项目拨款近40亿美元用于资助私立学校及其他替代性教育机构，这使得公立学校暂时出现了4700万美元的资金缺口。
In her decision to lower Hillsborough’s outlook, Fitch analyst Tammy Ou said “traditional enrollment has declined, driven by growth in school choice participation that has diverted state aid.”In the 2024-2025 school year, the state funded almost $4 billion to pay for private or alternative schooling across several different programs, temporarily creating a $47 million funding shortfall for public schools, according to the most recent audit of Florida’s Department of Education.
“正是教育券制度以及众多K-12教育替代选项的叠加效应导致了各学区的规模不断缩小。如今，尤其是南佛罗里达地区的公立学校，其学生人数正在持续减少，”冈说道。
“It’s this cumulative effect of vouchers and so many alternative choices for K-12 education that school districts are shrinking. Student population in public schools, particularly in South Florida, is shrinking,” said Gang.