The Pinellas County school district’s already grim budget outlook for the new fiscal year has taken several turns for the worse since officials unveiled their proposed spending plan in late June.
Superintendent Kevin Hendrick told school board members on July 15 that, after the June workshop, the state withdrew $1.4 million from the district as it adjusted funding statewide for students who had been registered both in public school and as voucher recipients.
Compounding the scenario, Hendrick continued, was the Trump administration’s impoundment of nearly $400 million in grant funds to Florida schools, of which Pinellas’ share is close to $9 million. In Pinellas, the money supports teacher training, arts enrichment, threat management response and college and career centers, among other items…