Freeze on federal grants felt as Brevard Schools creates 2026 budget
By Finch Walker
Amid mass layoffs at the Department of Education and a freeze on more than $6 billion in federal funds for school districts, Brevard's school board has been left with little guidance on how to budget for the upcoming school year.
A day after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow President Donald Trump to move forward with laying off 1,300 Department of Education workers, Brevard's school board members didn't discuss the move at a work session. But other recent actions within the department at Trump's hand were a hot topic, particularly the impact of a freeze on funding for multiple programs in Brevard and how, under the "One Big Beautiful Bill," those funds would be cut by about 70% for the 2026-2027 school year.
"This is just what we're hearing right now," said Cindy Lesinski, the district's chief financial officer. "There's going to be a lot more but just wanted to let you know the challenges that we're facing in order to build our budget with the things that we're considering."
The frozen funds impact programs supporting migrant students, English-language learners, professional development and more. Under Trump's new bill, signed July 4, the funds will be consolidated into one grant for K-12 students to be designated for certain purposes. Lesinski said it was likely that the English-language learner funds would be eliminated.
It's possible that the district may eventually receive these funds for the 2025-2026 school year. But without any kind of information on if or when that may happen, Lesinski said, they're going to proceed with making the budget as if they will not receive these funds.
"If funds are released, we will be ready, because we want to spend them, we don't want to leave any on the table, because I'm sure they won't give us the roll forward," she said, adding that she would advise using the funding for one-time purchases.
How will Brevard Public Schools move forward?
Under Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," the grants whose funds are currently frozen are to be consolidated into a single grant block for K-12 students. That grant will be worth about $2 billion, Lesinski said.
"It's a 70% cut," she said.
For now, the district plans on cutting vacant positions that aren't considered critical. At this point, they don't plan to cut positions that are currently filled. They're working to transfer capital funding to the general fund to pay for allowable salaries.
Overall, they'll review where else they can "get leaner," said Superintendent Mark Rendell.
"The thing that we're always going to try to do is keep the schoolhouse intact," he said. "If we have to make reductions in positions, we try not to do that at the school."
Board member Katye Campbell praised Lesinski's plan and said she hoped maybe next year the legislature would be more generous because it would be an election year.
"After everybody sees the impact of what this is going to do to us, I think everybody will have some more clarity," she said.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker. Instagram: @finchwalker_.