Pilar Bradley of Preserve Vision Florida has been named a winner of the 2025 KidsFirst awards by the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board.

The annual KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Awards recognizes outstanding local professionals who provide direct services and work tirelessly to put children first.

Bradley is the family services manager for Preserve Vision Florida. JWB invested $222,000 with Preserve Vision Florida’s “Seeing Our Bright Future” program in 2024 to provide vision screenings and follow-up to more than 4,200 children ranging in age from birth to 18.

The program works in partnership with public and private schools, as well as with community organizations to bring Preserve Vision Florida screening and treatment services to children throughout Pinellas County.

“For more than 13 years, Pilar has made it her mission to ensure that every child who needs eye care receives it,” JWB said in announcing the award. “She has built and refined a process so effective that 90% of children referred for follow-up care actually receive it, compared to the national average of just 30%. She reaches out personally, educates parents, coordinates appointments, and removes every barrier that might stand between a child and a clear view of the world.”

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_67b51c1f-48bf-406e-be8c-5cc636a6e6bc.html.

What You Need To Know

• Experts said there is a growing need for mental health services among children
• Funding for mental health services in Pinellas County Schools was uncertain when President Trump froze federal education grants
• At the time, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County said it was reallocating lapse funds to two mental health providers
• The frozen funds were released, and the board is still reallocating money to fund therapists that will help more than 300 students

Local experts said there is a growing need for mental health services for Pinellas County students.

Funding for those services at Pinellas County Schools was up in the air when President Donald Trump froze federal education grants in July.

While the funding was released, the school district had a back-up plan it is still moving forward with.

School is back in session, and school-based therapists are hard at work. 

“It feels amazing, it is the most rewarding job you can have. The children are wonderful and having them just run up to you every day and give you hugs and they’re just so excited to see you,” said Danielle Potter, school behavior therapist at Suncoast Center.

Danielle Potter is a school-based therapist in Pinellas County. She’s been in this career field for over four years, helping students in kindergarten through fifth grade. 

“We treat a variety of mental health disorders. Many of our children are struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said.

She has a wall full of tools to help her treat those disorders. Whether it’s coloring, reading or playing with blocks, her goal is to get her students to open up.

“It’s super important, it helps me identify the issues that we need to work on and the skills that we need to develop,” Potter said.

She said the need for mental health services has been growing since the pandemic. Potter said the need is so great, she splits her time between Sandy Lane and Kings Highway Elementary schools every week. 

“So both schools have extensive needs for the services, and a lot of the children are struggling and have behavioral challenges,” she said.

Funding for mental health services at Pinellas County Schools was uncertain when Trump froze federal education grants in July. Those funds were released, but a plan that was initially considered as an alternative has become reality.

“In order to be ready to learn and be available to learn in school, it’s important that we nurture and support our youth,” said Karen Boggess, chief operating officer of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.

The Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) said it is reallocating lapse funds to two mental health providers. About $600,000 will be split between Suncoast Center and Directions for Living. That’s funding a handful of therapists and helping more than 300 students. 

“When we can come together and partner with each other and figure out solutions so that our children and youth have all the tools that they need to be able to learn, grow, develop and be successful, and that’s what’s the most important,” Boggess said.

This school year, Potter says her position is now fully funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board. Both the board and Potter said her role is crucial to student success.

“We need to address the mental health issues that our children are exhibiting now, instead of waiting until they are adults,” Potter said.

In an executive order, President Trump called for more oversight of federal grant making. He said every tax dollar the government spends should improve American lives or advance American interests.

View the segment with interviews and read the article as originally published at https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2025/08/29/federal-funding-freeze-juvenile-welfare-board

For Sarah Seoudi, patience isn’t just a virtue — it’s a way of life.

For four years, the widowed mother of two has been helping her children and others deal with the stresses associated with grief, trauma and everyday life through The Living Lab presents Mindful Methods, a nonprofit program she founded in 2023 that provides an outlet for kids to express themselves and navigate life by utilizing a holistic health approach based on Buddhist principals.

The journey Seoudi has undertaken since her husband, a Marine veteran who struggled with substance abuse and PTSD, was killed in a car accident in October 2021 has been long, bumpy, and expensive, with several stops along the way.

But after self-funding her startup with her own money plus donations from supporters and friends, including business partner Laura McHenry, Seoudi can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. The Living Lab has found a home base in Clearwater and aligned with key community partners.

“We really live through faith, and it’s all about unlocking your journey,” Seoudi said recently from The Living Lab’s headquarters at 2337 Belleair Road in Clearwater, the third location in two years after she launched an adult-focused version of the program at the Ridgecrest YMCA fall 2021.

“So, even when we didn’t have answers, paths kept opening.”

Those paths have come through recent collaborations with major city and county organizations, including the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB), the Clearwater Neighborhood Family Center (CNFC), the cities of Largo and Clearwater, Pinellas County Schools, The Tampa Bay Community Foundation, Rainbow Village and Evara Health.

In July, Seoudi and McHenry took the Lab — focused on four curated stations where kids do everything from drawing to creating scents, cards and fruit smoothies — to St. Peterburg College’s Drew Street campus in Clearwater to participate in the CNFC’s eighth annual Rising Above Wellness Wonderland.

The sprawling event provided an opportunity for them to show how The Living Lab works with each child individually and in group settings, teaching everything from good hygiene and self-care to using their creativity, imagination and other outlets for dealing with trauma, fear, anger and self-doubt.

CNFC Executive Director Terry Jones said he found Seoudi’s program through a coworker and thought it was an ideal fit for his organization’s recent pivot to focusing on mental health and wellness.

“I met Sarah last year, and I instantly fell in love with her ideas and her solutions,” Jones said. “I wasn’t really sure,” about inviting The Living Lab to participate in the July 16 event, “but I was sure of her. I felt her passion and her knowledge. So, we gave her a shot, and she did really well.”

Indeed, the shot proved fruitful — The Living Lab had a full class of 30 kids for the 10 a.m. event.

Watching her work with the kids one-on-one, it’s easy to see why children trust Seoudi. She meets them literally at their level and talks to them like “regular” people, not troubled children.

“We want to help you work through the senses and emotions you feel every day,” Seoudi told two young boys coloring paper butterflies, which she uses as a symbol for The Living Lab program.

“Sadness, anger, fear, happiness all live inside us, and some emotions are stronger than others,” she continued. “What we do here is help exercise the emotions that don’t get as much work, like joy. It lives inside you, and we want you to experience feelings you haven’t had yet. We teach you how to make those parts of you stronger, and we want you to know you are not alone. We’ve got your six. I’ve got your back.”

When Seoudi asked for an adult-like handshake to seal their deal, the boys happily obliged.

“Ninety percent of dilemmas can be solved with dialog, and every kid is so different,” she said afterward. “So, we have to ask, how can we meet them where they are and get them to achieve self-sustainment?”

HAPPINESS STARTS AT HOME
Seoudi said she believes The Living Lab is finally attaining stability and success because the nation’s children are in a crisis that crosses all political, social, racial and religious boundaries.

“The Living Lab is for everyone. There’s no politics or religion involved, because this is an American problem,” said Seoudi, who “loves God and was raised as Roman Catholic” growing up in Philadelphia and was introduced to Buddhism’s principals by her late husband.

She also doesn’t pretend their methods are the only solutions for today’s kids and families.

“We know there are other methods that are working,” Seoudi said. “We’re not the moral compass. But we are wellness advocates starting at home, and we will work with anyone who needs us. We won’t turn kids away.”

The “at home” element is another component that separates The Living Lab program from others.

“We literally walk through every part of their life with the Lab, meeting with teachers and parents and family members, which allows them to integrate these tools without us,” Seoudi said of the free program, which is currently at capacity. They are working on new avenues to increase the size and scope.

“Teachers are above their heads, and parents are lost, too,” McHenry added. “So, we can be an advocate and mitigate the situation, because we’re a community of people who should be working together.”

Several parents of kids enrolled in The Living Lab’s action plans and wellness sessions said having everyone included in the process initially drew them to the program.

“Sarah always brings the family in. She never excludes family,” said Reba Harrison, a Clearwater mother of three whose kids suffered after their father’s death five years ago. “She asks if it’s OK how she presents herself to the kids, and I really appreciate that. She doesn’t see me as a threat.”

Fellow parent Erica Sekso, who has an 11-year-old daughter, Alissa, and 14-year-old son, Zachary, enrolled in The Living Lab program, agreed.

“My daughter loves it,” she said as the kids lounged in one of the Lab’s colorfully decorated sensory rooms.“She enjoys learning healthy habits and she brings those habits home. Sarah is an inspiration to all of us. She’s such an amazing person.”

Kristin MacRone, another Living Lab parent and volunteer, went further describing Seoudi.

“She brings out the best of everyone she’s around. She’s like an extra parent they’ve been missing.”

When told about the praise she’d received from the parents, Seoudi was genuinely surprised.

“I don’t get to hear that kind of stuff very much,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s very rewarding to know that what we’re doing is impacting these kids’ and families’ lives in such a positive way.”

THE NEXT LEVEL
Thanks to the new partnerships with organizations like CNFC, JWB, Evara, and others, as well as a new online course and platform for adults and organizations wanting to join “for a nominal cost,” Seoudi and McHenry believe The Living Lab is finally ready to spread its wings and reach kids and families nationwide.

“We think all communities can use this, and we can’t be everywhere,” McHenry said of their plan to integrate the program into schools, after-school programs and other childcare facilities. “So, if we can create this baseline, hopefully it will take off, and that would be our goal.”

“I feel like this is our time and this is a big year for us,” the ever-positive Seoudi said from their new Belleair Road space, where they recently signed a three-year lease, providing much needed stability for the program.

When asked to reflect on how far she has come since her husband’s death, Seoudi said: “This is a journey, and when I started, I understood it wouldn’t be through in a year. This is something we’ve dedicated our lives to, and the most important thing I’ve learned is, this isn’t really about me. It’s about responsibility, and the more you take responsibility, the more things begin to click. Keep showing up, have faith, and surround yourself with family, friends and supporters, and good things will happen.”

When Living Lab parent Reba Harrison was asked during a December open house if the program was having a positive effect on her previously traumatized kids, the Clearwater resident didn’t hesitate.

“Their morale has been boosted,” she said of her twin 8-year-old daughters, Tira and Tori, and 10-year-old Tali. “The girls are participating in a gifted program in school and in youth services at church, and they’re excited about it instead of feeling indifferent.

“With Sarah’s help, they know they’re special.”

For more information on The Living Lab, Inc, visit the nonprofit’s website.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/clearwater_beacon/article_215b6798-aa9e-4b82-8654-5bff1372b7ff.html

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

When disaster strikes, Pinellas County relies on communication channels (telephone hotlines, AM radio – even megaphones) to keep residents informed. Several years ago, the County recognized the need to improve how important information reaches the deaf and hard of hearing community.

“We partnered with the Family Center on Deafness to try and figure out what was available, what was already in place, and what we could bring on board,” said Jess McCracken, Emergency Management Coordinator for Pinellas County. “The list became, ‘Hey, we should bring these parties together,’ and Deaf Fest was born.”

The 4^th Annual Deaf Fest took place Saturday (Aug. 9) at the Lealman Exchange, the new home of the Family Center on Deafness (FCD). Over 20 parties had a presence with giveaways and crucial information to help the community better prepare for emergencies. County departments such as Emergency Management, Consumer Protection and Human Rights were on hand, as well as 911 Emergency Services with a text-to-911 demonstration.

Other service providers, such as PSTA, Pinellas County Schools and BayCare provided resources, answered questions and conducted screenings. The event’s maximum accessibility was thanks in part to a team of interpreters provided by AQI Interpreting.

In addition to emergency service providers, Deaf Fest welcomed organizations who specifically serve the deaf and hard of hearing community statewide. Among them were Pinellas County’s Deaf Literacy Center, Clearwater’s Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf, the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services of Florida.

ALDA stands for Association of Late-Deafened Adults. It’s part social club, part advocacy arm, with a 35-year presence in the area. 

ALDA Suncoast’s Chapter President, Kim Mettache, sat with her husband, Tahar Mettache, distributing booklets of ASL signs for emergencies. “These communication packets help emergency services to communicate with the community,” she said

ALDA Suncoast sponsored food for the event, providing free pizza and cannoli to all attendees courtesy of Leonardo’s Pizzeria, a deaf-owned restaurant in Palm Harbor. “We make everything from scratch,” co-owner Kelly Doleac said through an ASL interpreter.  “Our goals are good food, good pizza, and to empower the deaf community.”  

In the days leading up to the event, the Lealman Exchange was host to the annual public meeting of the Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The council is a resource for the nearly three million Floridians with hearing loss, and acts as an advisory and coordinating entity.

They were also available at Deaf Fest for additional interaction with the community.

During Deaf Fest, the Family Center on Deafness held two ribbon cuttings. The first officially opened its new permanent home in the Lealman Exchange, a facility housing several nonprofits with social service benefits to the Lealman neighborhood and beyond. Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Scherer, Rep. Lindsay Cross, Juvenile Welfare Board Interim CEO Michael G. Mikurak and current FCD Board President Susanne Moeller joined FCD Executive Director Anthony Verdeja in welcoming the public. 

The second ribbon cutting celebrated the FCD Girl Scout Troop’s completed butterfly garden. Troop 96360 received the Girl Scout Bronze Award for the project, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout (grades 4-5) can earn.

Mary Pat King, CEO of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, attended the ceremony to congratulate the Troop. “Girl Scouts aims to eliminate any barrier to a high-quality Girl Scout leadership experience,” she said in her remarks, “and it is partnerships like this that make it possible.” 

All the partners at Deaf Fest are striving to eliminate communication barriers, especially when it comes to emergencies. Deaf and hard of hearing persons can contact the County Information Center through an ASL interpreter on the language line, or use the live chat feature on the County’s website, and the County will implement improved signage in shelters and on aid distribution vehicles.

“We want to support the deaf and hard of hearing community getting prepared for hurricane season, know how to get resources, and know how to communicate needs,” said McCracken. “And we will continue to try to improve our knowledge.”

Becca McCoy is a Navigator with the St. Petersburg Foundation.

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/at-the-lealman-exchange-deaf-fest-and-ribbon-cuttings/.

Over the course of three weeks in July, the Juvenile Welfare Board’s Summer Book Bus made 81 stops at community sites across Pinellas County and gave away 10,756 books to 5,378 eager young readers.

A partnership with Pinellas County Schools, the JWB Summer Book Bus visits underserved neighborhoods across Pinellas County to combat summer learning loss. It’s all part of JWB’s Early Readers Future Leaders Grade-Level Reading Campaign, helping mitigate summer learning loss while instilling a love of reading in kids of all ages. Reading on grade-level by the end of third grade is an important predictor of high school graduation and future success.

And that’s why, for each of the last eight summers, Pinellas parents and kids have been invited to hop aboard the JWB Book Bus to choose two free books. With stops at community sites from Tarpon Springs to South St. Petersburg, the JWB Book Bus stops include public libraries, community recreation centers, neighborhood family centers, childcare centers, and more.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_1c677612-e7f0-4d1a-8f1c-1a6a55bce8b9.html

At the Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center’s Campers, kids are taught to appreciate the world around them.

For children who might not know the world beyond Florida, exploration begins at summer camp. The Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center’s 8-week summer program is a celebration of diversity around the United States.

“It struck me that, hey, we’re all immigrants,” said Donna McGill, executive director of LANFC.

In past years, the camp has been named “Summer Around the World.” But McGill noticed that the children coming to LANFC didn’t know much about any state outside of Florida. For McGill, it was important to educate children about the range of identities within their home country.

Most of the campers, who are second- or third-generation immigrants, have not traveled outside the state.

Angelo Paloma, 11, of Seminole, has been a LANFC camper for years. He likes to hang out with friends, cook and eat food from different states and play at the pool on sunny days.

His mother, Ana Paloma, was born in Mexico and moved to the United States as a teenager. She is a pre-K teacher and assists at LANFC’s summer camp to earn extra money for her family of five. The farthest she and her children have traveled is to Savannah, Georgia, and Mexico to visit family.

Ana Paloma admires LANFC’s initiative to teach the campers about the United States. “We want the kids to learn that this country is being made by immigrants; it’s what it is because of immigrants.”

Like McGill, Ana Paloma emphasizes that LANFC staff teaches the importance of empathy.

“That’s the most important thing: that my kids can go to a summer camp where they can have fun and play and not have to worry about anything else. What really matters is seeing that friendship, and that sense of community. Being really close together. Even the staff, we are just a few people, but I feel like we can trust each other.”

LANFC fosters a tight-knit and supportive community through their longtime staff members. McGill credits the strength of the summer camp to her dedicated team members, “I have the best staff,” she said. “These people are just so caring. We’re tough, but we’re also loving, and the kids keep coming back every year.”

Thuat Truong has worked at LANFC for 20 years. Before coming to Florida, she was a geography professor in Vietnam. Truong works closely with the local Vietnamese community, helping with anything from English lessons to paperwork. Sometimes they may just want to see a friendly face.

Her relationship with families doesn’t end when children graduate and leave Florida, or when families no longer need help.

“They know it’s their second home,” said Truong.

LANFC offers immigration support, food pantry donations, family resources and after-school childcare.

Primarily funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board, LANFC serves younger community members with English language lessons, after-school activities and camp.

McGill and her staff’s mission has been and always will be to teach kids respect for their community. Campers are taught to appreciate the world around them. Learning about the uniqueness of each state is just a start to teaching children the importance of diversity.

“One day I will visit all states,” said an enthusiastic Angelo Paloma.

Read the article and see the photos as originally posted at https://www.tampabay.com/photos/2025/08/08/this-summer-camp-is-teaching-diversity-all-us/

This month marks 10 years since “Failure Factories,” the Tampa Bay Times investigative series exposing flaws in the Pinellas County school system.

The Pulitzer-winning series focused on the impact of school segregation and the lack of resources on five schools.

“It wasn’t easy for the school district, but it was fair, which is all you can ask for,” Superintendent Kevin Hendrick recently told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. He oversaw district academics at the time. 

At a July school board meeting, Hendrick said progress has been made in the key indicator of third-grade reading proficiency. Foundational reading gains are essential for developing the career-driven, adaptable skill sets in the future Tampa Bay job market.  

In 2018, Florida had 57% third-grade reading proficiency and Pinellas had 53%. The district’s all-in early literacy investment strategy is showing significant returns. Today, Florida is still at 57%, but Pinellas is now at 67%, up 14%. 

Crisis possibly averted: The Trump Administration froze nearly $7 billion in school grants on June 30, cutting $400 million from Florida and $9 million from Pinellas County. Lawsuits followed, prompting a reversal; funds are expected by late July. The freeze threatened key programs like mental health, STEM, arts, and after-school support across multiple districts.

Florida school grades squarely analyze grades three to five, Hendrick said.

“If you build a strong pipeline by the time they get to third grade, you’re good,” he said. 

It partnered with the Helios Education Foundation, the Pinellas Education Foundation, and others. It is also a focus of the Tampa Bay Partnership, the Juvenile Welfare Board, early learning county coalitions, and many others.

Last year, voters approved money for teachers’ and support staff’s salaries, but a portion is reserved for reading support. 

And there is school board buy-in and consensus, despite the full spectrum of political views, Hendrick said.

“They’re [often] unanimously agreed to focus on early literacy,” he said. “Let’s not talk about which books we used to do it. Let’s not talk about which messages we’re sending. Let’s just teach kids to read.”

But the real question is, why are some communities more successful than others? Pinellas has found a path to success with strategic ingredients.

“It’s about teacher training and follow-up,” Hendrick said. “The business model normally doesn’t allow it. We can do a one-time training, but not the follow-up.” 

Named to the role in 2022, Hendrick began his career in education in 1997 as a math teacher at Pinellas Park High School, before teaching social studies and coaching basketball at Dunedin High School for several years.

Specifically, success comes from instructional coaching, funded by philanthropy and the University of Florida. 

“After teachers go to training, they have people on the ground all the time coaching and supporting you to grow,” he said. 

Once an afterthought, kindergarten readiness is now more widely championed.

“Everyone knows the importance,” Hendrick said. “Once you become a reader, you stay a reader, and then we know all the things that open up life to,” he said. “There are so many more choices.”

Read the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2025/08/01/pinellas-touts-literacy-gains.html

The U.S. Department of Education said Friday afternoon it will release the billions of dollars remaining in grant funding it withheld for review.

On June 30, the department notified school districts in a statement that the $6.8 billion in grant funding would not be dispersed due to the department “reviewing the FY 2025 funding for the [Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, IV-B] grant program(s).”

According to school leaders, the grant funds cover a plethora of programs, such as after-school programming, professional development for teachers, mental health and more.

Last week, the department said it would release $1.3 billion in after-school and summer programing.

School boards across the state of Florida were notified of the remaining funding to be released by an email sent from the Florida School Boards Association obtained by News Channel 8:

“Board Members:

“We will continue with the work that we had planned, continuing to elevate excellence in these various areas that these funds affect,” said Laura Hine, Pinellas County School Board Chair.

$9 million in grant funding was withheld from the Pinellas County School District, impacting mental health, professional development, programming for middle school students and more.

“Our schools went from 80% A’s and B’s to 90% A’s and B’s and we know that professional development of our teachers is one of the reasons,” Hine said. “We tend to lose kids in middle school. Adolescence is a powerful time. But with our investment in that work, we now have 90% of our middle schools are our A or B school.”

Hine said she is grateful to the school community, along with other agencies such as the Juvenile Welfare Board and the Education Foundation, for reaching out and providing assistance in potential gaps that would have been left empty without the grant funding.

On Thursday night, Pinellas County school leaders held a town hall to address the freeze of funding with the community.

“We had more than 300 people attend in person. We know more than 3,600 people viewed online. The interest in our schools is strong,” Hine said. “To see the community from all corners turn out in support of their schools, including the elected officials in this in this area, and bipartisan support of funding our schools has really been extraordinary and good.”

Pinellas County school board leaders also said last week they would be writing letters to the U.S. Department of Education and state department of education, as well as congressional representatives and local delegations.

“I have heard from all three, Senator Hooper, Senator Rouson, and Senator DiCeglie — again, bipartisan support throughout Pinellas County, as well as both Representative Luna and Representative Castor, [who] all wrote letters and spoke out in support of releasing these funds and we very much appreciate their support,” Hine said.

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid also responded to the news of the release of funding with a statement after announcing last week more than $20 million in the grant funding for the district was at risk.

“We are very pleased to hear that this federal funding is being released. This funding provides necessary support for students throughout our district. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to continue our life-changing work made possible by this federal funding.”

Fred Heid, Superintendent, Polk County Public Schools

Some school districts are awaiting official notice for the release of funding as Hillsborough County Public Schools relayed to News Channel 8 in a statement:

We will wait for the official confirmation on the status of the federal education grant funds.

Debra Bellanti, Media and Public Relations Director, Hillsborough County Public Schools 

Bellanti shared funding amounts the school district is expected to receive for the respective title grants, which in total amount to more than $24 million.

Pasco County Council PTA of Florida PTA (Parent Teachers’ Association) President Erin Kelley said Pasco County Schools is expecting $6.3 million and added that she too is awaiting the official notification.

“Will the government release the whole amount that we’re expecting? We don’t know. Are there going to be any additional requirements that they put on our school boards or our states in order to release the funds? We can’t be sure until the funds are actually here,” Kelley said.

Parents who spoke with News Channel 8 Friday night voiced their concerns about transparency and called the actions from the federal department an overreach.

“What was concerning me is, you know, I’ve got a daughter who enters the public school system in two weeks, and she’s just beginning her public education,” said Whitney Fox, a Pinellas County mother of two. “I’m worried, what if this happens again? What if the funds aren’t unfrozen? I think that this isn’t the first that we’re going to see an attack on the public education system.”

View the segment and read the article as originally published at https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/u-s-department-of-education-says-it-will-release-remaining-withheld-school-grant-funds/

School districts across the country felt some relief Friday afternoon when the U.S. Department of Education deemed its review of frozen federal funds was complete. The department announced it would begin releasing money to local districts next week after facing a lawsuit and bipartisan pressure.

Pinellas County school board chair Laura Hine credited the power of community input for the reversal.

“The unanimous interest from across our community in the funding of their schools — including our elected officials — was powerful and yielded results,” she said.

The night before, Pinellas County school leaders urged community members to rally for the release of those funds.

They presented what was at stake with an initial $9 million in funding being withheld from them by the U.S. Department of Education.

District Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said a little under $1 million had been recently released before Thursday for after-school and summer enrichment, and the state also released around $2 million in unspent rollover funds from the previous year. The district had around $1 million budgeted for unexpected expenses in the categories the funds are tied to. The Juvenile Welfare Board also stepped in to provide $600,000 toward mental health care services.

The fate of the remaining $5 million caused uncertainty for the coming school year.

Though the district said no employee would lose their job, 13 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) positions could have been eliminated and those employees would be reassigned. Four human resource positions were slated to be reassigned. Funding for professional development, new teacher mentoring and adult literacy and workforce education also faced cuts.

“The board unanimously believes that program reviews for compliance is completely reasonable,” Hendrick said Thursday. “What we argue is that the timing of this review is not reasonable. To do so the day before a fiscal year begins, when we’ve hired 47 people off of these grants into positions, is not a reasonable expectation.”

Community members had a chance to ask school officials questions about what comes next. Some asked if they could expect to not receive the funds at all.

“Could they be repurposed?” Hendrick said. “They could. Could they be never given out? They could. Might they be given out tonight? Maybe. But we don’t know.”

The abrupt halt in funding would have impacted teachers who rely on federal grants for professional development, classroom support and other benefits.

Former Pinellas County teacher Kristi Carroll is among the many educators who did not have an education degree when they began their teaching career. Professional development programs like the Transition to Teaching program she participated in are at risk of going away.

“(The program) was really, really helpful in becoming a teacher, because I was a history major, which helped me a lot when I was teaching history, but I needed to learn how to teach,” she said. “I was able to give my students what they needed, but I needed to learn the skill of being a teacher, because it is a skill.”

Sharon Johnson-Levy, school counselor for Bear Creek Elementary School in St. Petersburg, has been involved in the school system since 2010. Johnson-Levy said she believed it would be just the first of many cutbacks to the education system.

“Teachers have really taken a blow over the last few years,” she said. “There’s been a lot of support that has been lost way before this. And so there comes a breaking point where some one hero can keep things going, but how far does it go before things start to kind of not work?”

At the meeting representatives for both U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Kathy Castor expressed support and urged attendees to write letters to their lawmakers.

Danielle Shipp, who attended the town hall and has children in both charter and public schools in Pinellas, said she hopes more parents get involved.

“I just want to make sure our children’s education stays consistent, no matter the administration, whether it’s Democrat, Republican, independent,” she said.

Whitney Fox, whose first child is entering school in fall, said she thought the funding freeze was just the beginning and believed the federal government would bring more of Project 2025, a Republican policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation, into fruition.

“This is just the beginning,” she said. “There is a plan that has been laid out very clearly. This should not be a surprise to anyone that this is happening. There are more cuts coming to public education. We should be incredibly alarmed. What will we do when the cuts continue to come?”

Hine, the Pinellas school board chair, encouraged the community to stay involved, even after the funds are released.

“Florida’s legislative session is around the corner,” she said. “Let the folks who make the funding decisions for our schools know that this matters to you — that these are your tax dollars, you believe in your schools and you want them funded.”

To read this article as it was originally published, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2025/07/25/pinellas-school-leaders-rally-community-over-federal-funding-cuts/

Pinellas County Schools (PCS) officials held a community forum discussing the federal education funding freeze Thursday at the organization’s administrative building in Largo. 

On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education froze a total of $6.8 billion previously allocated education grant funds, including approximately $400 million statewide at the direction of the Trump Administration. PCS was to receive $9 million of the funds. 

The unexpected freeze came just a day before the start of the district’s fiscal year and a little more than a month before classes begin. 

The funds were “frozen for review with no timeline on when or if those funds would be released,” Kevin Hendrick, Superintendent, Pinellas County Schools said in the presentation. 

When Hendrick and the Pinellas County School Board reviewed the budget for fiscal year 2026 in June, they suspected federal funds would decrease “because of changing priorities in Washington D.C.” 

However, they “anticipated” receiving the federal grant funds that were ultimately frozen. Hendrick was clear that Pinellas County Schools officials are advocating for the release of the funds. 

“Program reviews for compliance are reasonable, the timing of this review is not reasonable,” Hendrick explained.  

The funds affected are Title II, Title III, Title IV and Adult Education and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education-based grants. 

Title II, Part A funding supports programs that relate to professional development and instructional coaching. Funding under the Title III, Part A classification helps schools offer English language instruction for immigrant students and multilingual learners. 

Title IV, Part A funding is focused on providing children with a more well-rounded education through enrichment programs, mental health resources and technology. 

There is a Part B related to Title IV funding, which includes support for after-school and summer enrichment programs for qualifying students. Part B funds were released Monday. 

Adult Education and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education funds back literacy and workforce readiness programs for adult learners. 

Decisions about the short-term future of programs and staff have had to be made quickly. “We don’t have a month, or two months or six months to figure this out. We have to act on this now,” Hendrick said. 

No PCS employee will lose their job and their salary will stay the same for the upcoming school year. However, some staff members will have to switch positions. 

“We have to find other places for those individuals and we have to find other ways to either eliminate or accommodate the programs that they were running or the support that they provided to our children in our county,” he added. 

For instance, 13 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers in the district will have to become vacant classroom instructors. 

Positions and salaries will be impacted in the 2026-2027 school year. Programs will be cut as well, including various professional development opportunities for teachers. Some enrichment activities, including a hands-on mobile STEM lab for middle school students, will be eliminated. 

PCS does have rollover grant funds from last year, roughly $2 million, that can be used to help with budget adjustments for fiscal year 2026. The organization also has about $1 million saved in reserved funds for unexpected expenses relating to education enrichment. 

Additionally, PCS has partnered with the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County to provide extra mental health services for students, which would have been covered by Title IV, Part A funding. The Board has made a contribution of $600,000 to fund the program. 

As for the long-term impact of the freeze, it is yet to be determined, Hendrick explained. The current budget cuts are in a draft stage and the funds could be released.  

The PCS team was able to get U.S. representatives Anna Paulina Luna of District 13 and Kathy Castor of District 14 to write letters to the federal government encouraging a release. 

 Eileen M. Long, Pinellas County School Board member, spoke honestly about the implications. 

“We are really feeling this impact. This is my 44th year here at Pinellas County Schools. I taught for 34 years,” she said. 

“This is heartbreaking. This is the only career I’ve ever known and I love our children. My two children are products of PCS and we all benefit from their education.” 

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/school-funding-freeze-explained-discussed-in-forum/