Local districts are scrambling to figure out how to budget for the 2025-26 school year that starts in just a few weeks, because of state and federal cuts and freezes that are keeping millions of dollars in limbo.
Much of the uncertainty stems from the Trump Administration’s decision on June 30, a day before the fiscal year began for Florida schools, to freeze nearly $7 billion in federal grants to schools nationwide.
Two weeks later, 24 states and the District of Columbia have sued the administration, but the funding is still frozen.
Some districts, like Pinellas County, are planning to cut programs that include support for English language learners, mental health services, arts and STEM enrichment, and after-school programs.
"This will mean real and actual cuts to services that directly impact student achievement in our district," said Pinellas County superintendent Kevin Hendrick at a school board meeting Tuesday.
“The board supports spending the funds in compliance with state and federal laws, as we've already demonstrated year after year. However, the lack of timing and transparency regarding when or if these funds will even be released is completely unreasonable,” he said.
The federal freeze amounts to about $400 million less for Florida, and a $9 million freeze for Pinellas County schools, according to Hendrick. He said Pinellas plans to reassign rather than lay off staff.
The Pinellas school board meets again to approve its budget on July 29. Hendrick said the federal funds under freeze will not be included in that budget, unless something changes soon.
The federal freeze has put $24 million in jeopardy in Hillsborough County schools, the seventh-largest district in the nation, including $8 million for teacher training, and $1.9 million for migrant education.
US Congresswoman Kathy Castor, of Tampa, sent a letter Wednesday urging the Department of Education to immediately release the money.
“The critical funding streams that are being withheld were approved by a bipartisan Congress to aid schools in training teachers, providing a well-rounded education, and supporting safe and healthy school and after-school initiatives,” she wrote.
“Freezing these funds without warning and with no indication of timing for their release has caused great uncertainty, as local school districts are currently finalizing their budgets for the 2025-2026 academic year,” Castor added.
Other programs in Hillsborough affected by the federal freeze include adult education programs and English language learning.
Hillsborough superintendent Van Ayres said at a school board meeting earlier this month that the federal government was “reviewing the funding, holding it back from all the states,” and noted that those funds typically arrive between September and November.
A Hillsborough schools spokeswoman said Wednesday the district is “monitoring the situation.”
“It is important to remember, as has been communicated to us, that these funds have not been taken away; rather, they are under review,” said Tanya Arja.
“Though the grant period begins on July 1, the official grant notification does not come until October or sometimes November. So, at this time, there is no impact to staff and students.”
State funding drops, too
Some cuts that districts are facing come from the state. As more students opt for private school and families take advantage of state-funded vouchers amounting to around $8,000 per year, enrollment at public schools is dropping.
Statewide, there is $47 million less than anticipated in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), “in large part due to the 25,000 students that were dual registered as both scholarship recipients and public school students,” said Hendrick.
“For us, that meant $1.4 million less in FEFP revenue due to a shortage across the state in total revenue,” he told the school board this week. The Florida Department of Education also announced a “reduction in Title 1 funds across the state, which amounts to about $300,000 less for Pinellas County,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Sarasota County, superintendent Terry Connor warned staff of tighter budgets in a June 12 email that said “the state's proposed per-student funding increase for next year is 1.59%, which doesn't keep up with inflation.”
Costs of contributing to retirement funds, health insurance and utilities are also on the rise, while enrollment for 2025-26 is expected to drop, according to the Florida Education Estimating Conference, “which will result in reduced funding for us,” Connor added.
He announced a district-wide hiring freeze, and said some positions would go under a “staffing review” process, suggesting cuts are on the way.
Positions under review include behavior coaches, career advisors, registrar and bookkeeper assistants, guidance counselors, tech support, security staff, administrative assistants, custodians and substitute teachers.
Polk and Hernando cuts
Hernando County has also frozen all hiring related to the affected federal programs.
"In response to the recent federal and state policies, we have had to reduce programs and purchases in the affected areas by approximately 50%," said Superintendent Ray Pinder.
Areas affected include language and literacy programs, career and technical education summer camps, extra supplies, and staff support and professional development, according to a spokesman for Hernando County schools.
"We are working diligently to find solutions to help mitigate the impacts this will have on the programs and services we are able to provide to our students and families who benefit from these funds. There are currently no planned layoffs," Pinder said in a statement.
Hernando County Schools could lose $1.7 million dollars if the federal grant dollars under review are not released.
In Polk County, school leaders warned of "significant shortfalls," in a letter to staff and students' families on Thursday.
“Simply put, our district is being asked to do more with less — and the ones who stand to lose the most are our students,” said Superintendent Fred Heid.
“These aren’t administrative issues. These are frontline impacts that affect classrooms, teachers, and essential services for our most vulnerable students.”
Polk County said it faces an immediate $2.5 million shortfall in state funding "due to what state officials have described as dual-enrollment errors that misallocated funding for nearly 25,000 Florida students."
On top of that, increased allocations for vouchers and charter schools are diverting $45.7 million away from public schools in Polk.
“We now face having to subsidize state priorities using local resources,” Heid said.
The federal block on grants means $20 million in funding is being withheld, affecting programs for migrant students, English language learners, teacher recruitment and professional development, adult education and academic enrichment.
Polk County said more than 125 full-time positions rely on grant funds from the federal government. The district said it will shift costs to available grants and use carry-forward funds to absorb the costs for now. No layoffs or hiring freezes are currently planned in Polk County.
“But make no mistake: every dollar lost translates to reduced capacity to serve our students,” Heid said.
WUSF reached out to school districts in Sarasota, Manatee and Pasco for an update on their plans, but they did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
