The Broward County Council of PTA/PTSA is throwing its full support behind a federal lawsuit aimed at compelling the U.S. Department of Education to release nearly $396 million in education funds that Congress had approved but are currently being withheld.
Filed on Monday, July 21, in Rhode Island by Democracy Forward, Jacobson Lawyers Group, and Deluca, Weizenbaum, Barry, and Revins, the lawsuit is a joint effort among Florida PTA, school districts, and education unions nationwide. The suit seeks a preliminary injunction for the immediate release of the blocked funds, which were designated to support programs ranging from after-school tutoring to local food assistance.
Broward County Public Schools alone stands to lose more than $30 million in funding—an average of nearly $92,000 per school. That money was intended to help bolster student achievement, support educators, and maintain critical services for one of the country’s largest public school districts.
“Broward is already at the early stages of approaching a financial cliff,” said Phyllis Shaw, President of the Broward County Council of PTA/PTSA. “We’re seeing schools closed and repurposed, critical programs scaled back, and the effects of the state’s ballooning voucher program draining resources from public education.”
Shaw pointed to a recent emergency measure passed by the School Board that allocated $119,500 to cover school lunch costs for students who no longer qualify for free or reduced meals. “That amount isn’t even enough for one school, let alone for the sixth-largest district in the country with children in need,” she said. “If $500 per Broward school can’t even begin to address hunger, imagine the damage of losing over $30+ million in federal funding.”
“There’s no realistic path to raise local taxes to cover these losses in this economy, and not without hurting the very families we’re trying to help. This lawsuit isn’t political. It’s a fight for survival for our kids, our teachers, and our schools.”
Statewide, Florida PTA says the funding freeze could devastate partnerships with community organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs and jeopardize essential programs. Counties are bracing for major losses: Miami-Dade could lose $35 million, Pinellas $9 million, Orange $22 million, and Leon County $12.5 million.
“Florida has made meaningful academic progress, including a nearly 10% increase in schools earning an ‘A’ or ‘B’ and a 40% decrease in those rated ‘D’ or ‘F’ across all grade levels,” said Maxine Ann-Marie Lewers, President of Florida PTA. “Now Florida faces the sudden withholding of nearly $396 million dollars of critical federal funds approved by Congress by the U.S. Department of Education. Districts are being forced to make last-minute decisions that threaten student support, staffing, and stability. These are not abstract concerns. The impact will be felt immediately in classrooms, particularly in schools that serve the highest-need communities.”
Lewers, a former Broward County Council PTA President and resident of Coconut Creek, was joined by President-elect Jude Bruno, a Miami native and public school parent, in emphasizing that the legal challenge is not about partisanship. “It’s about ensuring schools can serve students without disruption,” they said.
