Pinellas, Pasco School Leaders Still in Dark on Federal Funding Freeze

Leaders of two Tampa Bay area school districts have a big wish as they head toward budget public hearings next week.

They’d like the Trump administration to decide the fate of billions of dollars in federal grants that have been frozen since the beginning of July. The grants help pay for migrant education, teacher retention programs, English language instruction and academic enrichment.

“The piece that we’re all asking for is closure,” Pinellas County superintendent Kevin Hendrick said during a workshop Tuesday.

Pinellas County’s share of the grants is just under $9 million. Pasco County’s portion is just over $6 million.

Officials had anticipated the money would be largely gone by fall 2026, but not now. They contend not knowing whether it’s coming — the Trump administration is getting pressure from all sides to release the money — is making it hard to prepare for the new school year.

Students return to classes in less than three weeks. Yet districts don’t know whether they will have the ability to pay for dozens of employees who provide vital services such as support for English language learners and teacher training, some of which are required by federal law.

“There is some new information always developing,” Pasco County superintendent John Legg said Tuesday during his district’s workshop.

Both districts were about to cut positions in their after-school programs funded by one of the federal grants, for instance, until the Office of Management and Budget announced late Friday it would release that money.

Grant money for adult education programs also has begun arriving in district accounts, though at a reduced level from the initial allocation.

Knowing such details could change at any moment has led the districts to hold off announcing any major actions. They don’t want to create any more anxiety by threatening peoples’ jobs until they can’t avoid it.

“We’re trying to wait as long as we can,” Hendrick said. “These funds might be released tonight. They might not be released at all. … If we get all the funds tomorrow, obviously it’s a different conversation.”

Officials have started to review which positions and programs they must have, and which can be reduced or eliminated. And no decision is simple, because each move can impact employees and services in other areas.

“A lot of the positions are critical and only partially funded by the grants,” said Tammy Taylor, Pasco’s chief financial officer. “It’s not just something we can unilaterally cut.”

In Pasco, the federal money pays for 39 allocations, affecting 56 positions. In Pinellas, 47 jobs are covered with the funds.

If a position gets cut, the work doesn’t necessarily go away. It might be shifted to another department, budget and person, spreading the impact further.

To limit the potential fallout, Pinellas has decided to keep the grant money out of its budget plan until it arrives.

Hendrick and his team have mentioned a handful of moves on tap, such as the Juvenile Welfare Board’s offer to pay for six mental health therapists that had been funded by federal grants, but didn’t want to commit to many specifics until absolutely necessary.

School board members said they wanted more details about possible service reductions to make the effects clear to parents and residents ahead of a Thursday town hall meeting. Board member Katie Blaxberg stressed the need to have a story to tell as the district asks supporters to pressure federal government officials to release the money.

“It’s important for the public at large to see how these cuts are affecting their schools,” Blaxberg said.

The Pasco district is leaning in the other direction.

“We’re including everything in the budget,” Taylor said of the federal money. “If it needs to be amended when we get the award letters, we’ll amend it.”

Board member Al Hernandez said he supported that approach, reiterating concerns across the state that the uncertainty is the most problematic part.

“Who knows what we expect to get?” Hernandez mused.

The districts are scheduled to hold their first budget public hearings, at which they set their maximum tax rates, on July 29. Their final budget votes are set for September.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2025/07/23/pinellas-pasco-school-leaders-still-dark-federal-funding-freeze/