PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is learning more about billions of dollars earmarked for schools and after-school programs being frozen by the federal government.
On Friday, reporter Michael Hoffman confirmed millions of those frozen dollars will now be released in Palm Beach County.
Last week, we reported that the School District of Palm Beach County has $32 million in frozen grants.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel's office said Friday that $9 million of those funds will be released to the school district on Monday.
Frankel's team also said the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County will also see at least $9 million of its frozen funds released on Monday as well. WPTV is told that the money covers after-school funding.
Jaene Miranda, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County, has loved working with and for the kids of Palm Beach County.
"You know, we've been under quite a bit of stress," said Miranda. "Trying to come up with scenarios on what we would do if, you know, the funds weren't available, which—the scenarios were, you know, pretty dire."
That changed when Frankel confirmed that the Boys and Girls Club would be receiving its $9 million.
"Oh, my God, the weight that's lifted off of our shoulders, because the impact would be quite significant here in Palm Beach County," Miranda said. "I can't speak for the school district, but I'm sure it would have impacted them significantly."
Frankel called the move by the Department of Education a step in the right direction.
"I'm happy about it. But listen, this should not be news," Frankel said. "This money was authorized by the Congress many, many months ago, and it's been withheld illegally."
Frankel says she is still fighting for the remaining funds for the School District of Palm Beach County.
"There are still millions of dollars that’s being withheld. That’s for teacher training, for example, professional development—affecting almost 200 staff at the school board. And we're talking about a school district with 180,000 children," Frankel said.
All of this comes as President Donald Trump's administration reviews $6 billion in funding for school districts across the country.
WPTV reached out to the School District of Palm Beach County, which stood to lose the most federal funding in the area, for comment and has not heard back.
