As a new school year is set to get underway, some private school owners are worried they might have to close. It’s all because of funding mixups with the state’s scholarship program. 7’s Vanessa Medina has tonight’s 7 Investigates.
It is special moments like these that made Juanita McGhee open her own school.
Juanita McGhee: “My heart is in it. I want to help kids be their authentic selves. And that’s through creativity, music.”
She welcomed students to “Brilliant Minds Academy School of the Arts” in Fort Lauderdale last year. But only a few months in…
Juanita McGhee: “That’s when the problem arised.”
Juanita enrolled her school in “Step Up for Students” — Florida’s main scholarship distributor. But the money — never came.
Juanita McGhee: “The third quarter went by. Step Up had no answers, real answers for us, and now we were at the fourth quarter. We’re still waiting for payment.”
Juanita maxxed out all of her credit cards in order to keep her doors open and she is not the only one.
Ada Gonzalez: “It was a moment of total panic.”
Tasha Hill/director of Cutler Bay Christian Academy: “We’re finding ourselves in a bad situation.”
7Investigates first reported last September on Florida private schools nearly forced to close because of delayed funding from Step Up.
The school voucher program was overwhelmed with applications after Governor Ron Desantis expanded the program to include all students, no matter their family income.
That resulted in delays of processing payments for schools.
Mary Josephine Walsh / founder of, Florida Coalition for Private Schools: “Most schools are very hopeful that the problems that Step Up have demonstrated in the past year have been resolved.”
Mary Josephine Walsh began the Florida Coalition for Private Schools when her school for students with autism did not receive funding.
She says there are schools across the state — that are also in Juanita’s situation.
Mary Josephine Walsh: “I have schools who still have greater than $100,000 outstanding for more than eight months. So there’s still some problems and we’re hoping that those don’t roll over into the new school year.”
Vanessa Medina: Step Up told 7News it does not expect a delay like last year’s. It’s expanded its resources, they say, because there has been an increase in applications. However, for schools like Juanita’s, they’re not yet funded so many owners saying preparing for the worst.
Mary Josephine Walsh: “Last year, there was definitely an incongruency between what they say and what we see.”
If Step Up’s changes are not enough to keep up with the demand, Walsh says parents may need to explore other scholarship options.
Mary Josephine Walsh: “If parents are not getting the results that they need when they advocate for their child, then most certainly they should look for other options. Parents have the choice between Triple-A scholarships and Step-Up For Student scholarships.
For now, Juanita is sticking with Step Up and hopes she can get answers before the start of the new school year.
Vanessa Medina, 7News.
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