Public education faces dire consequences following drop in enrollment Updated: Tags: The decline could eventually have dire consequences for already stressed school budgets that are based on headcounts. If enrollment doesn’t return to projected levels, the resulting loss of funding would be “crippling” to public education, leading to layoffs and program cuts, and also harmful to the states’ economies as school districts are among the largest employers in thousands of counties across the country. Even more alarming, educators say, is that some of the students who left may not be in school at all. Right now, updated enrollment numbers are not available in Florida. The state’s public education enrollment numbers were collected in October and are expected to be released in early January.