![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_4270.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One hundred and nineteen million dollars.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how much Orange County Public Schools, one of the nation\u2019s largest school districts, has set aside<\/a> for \u201cpending litigation\u201d involving the Disney World, which sued<\/a> the county property appraiser and tax collector (not for the first time) last year over \u201cexcessive\u201d property tax assessments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Disney, the state\u2019s largest single-site employer, reported $94 billion<\/a> in revenue last year, up 3 percent from 2024. The Orange County school district, meanwhile, was forced to close seven schools<\/a> for the upcoming school year, due to a substantial reduction in student enrollment and a consequential loss in funding.<\/p>\n \u201cDisney has the legal right to sue. They\u2019re not doing anything that they\u2019re not allowed to do, but they also don\u2019t have to. They could drop the lawsuits, and they could also agree to give that money for our schools and teachers here,\u201d said Ella Wood, an organizer with one of the Disney World unions Unite Here Local 737, speaking to a crowd gathered at a local community center Thursday night. <\/p>\n The union represents roughly 19,000 tourism workers in Central Florida, including workers at Disney World who Wood says are facing steep health insurance hikes ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here because we think it\u2019s time to ask for more. We need an economy around us and a political system around us that put us first, that care about our families first, and we don\u2019t believe we have that,\u201d Wood acknowledged. \u201cWe think we need to build that together.\u201d<\/p>\n A few dozen people, mostly workers at Disney World, packed into the Taft Community Center on South Orange Avenue Thursday evening to discuss the slew of lawsuits filed by their employer in December. The Mouse has been filing lawsuits<\/a> over property taxes since 2016, but this year, the potential risks of that litigation are being felt very keenly by Orange County teachers.<\/p>\n Clinton McCracken, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association \u2014 representing roughly 13,000 instructional staff \u2014 said the school district has cited the $119 million for \u201cpending litigation\u201d as a reason for why the district is offering a less-than-1 percent<\/a> pay raise for teachers this year as the union works to negotiate a new union contract.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district has proposed a 0.93 percent raise,\u201d McCracken said, immediately earning a round of boos from town hall attendees, \u201ccoupled with a massive increase to the cost of premiums and deductibles to our insurance, which already increased by 64 percent two years ago.\u201d Teacher pay in Orange County begins at $50,000 annually.<\/p>\n Even more, the district recently announced<\/a> that SAFE (Student Assistance and Family Empowerment) coordinator positions in Orange County schools, which aim to support students experiencing homelessness, suicide prevention and crisis intervention, are being cut for this upcoming school year.<\/p>\n Fifteen licensed mental health counselor positions in Orange County Public Schools are also being eliminated, in addition to 12 social workers and six psychologists, according to the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese decisions have real consequences for students, educators and our community. If we are serious about supporting public education, we need all stakeholders, including major community partners like Disney, to reconsider actions that are contributing to the strain on our public schools,\u201d McCracken told Orlando Weekly.<\/p>\n A school district spokesperson initially denied in an email to Orlando Weekly that Disney\u2019s lawsuits have anything to do with the staffing cuts or paltry raise offer. That\u2019s despite the district\u2019s chief negotiator directly referencing \u201cDisney\u201d litigation in a discussion with union leaders last week, according to audio of the meeting obtained by the Weekly, in explanation of their staffing cuts and proposed health insurance hikes for union members.<\/p>\n Scott Howat, the district\u2019s chief communications officer, later acknowledged in a call with Orlando Weekly that the Disney lawsuits were \u201cone of a number of factors\u201d affecting the district\u2019s proposals for wages and health insurance cost changes this year. <\/p>\n He confirmed the district has been setting aside $8 to $11 million each year since 2021 to cover the estimated share of ad valorem taxes paid by Disney and other large commercial property owners. Howat didn\u2019t\u00a0name any of the other large commercial property owners involved in the lawsuits, but acknowledged that Disney is the largest one.<\/p>\n Property taxes are the largest source of funding for Orange County\u2019s school system, followed by state funding and a sliver of funds from the federal government. Funding from the state, notably, is tied to student enrollment, and the district has lost roughly 5,600 students over the last school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Half are students from immigrant families \u2014 a loss the district attributes to the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, DACA recipients, and immigrants living and working in the U.S. through a Temporary Protected Status program. <\/p>\n Other contributing factors the district has cited include a decline in birth rates and the expansion of the state\u2019s controversial school voucher program, according to the district. That program \u2014 facing scrutiny from legislators in both major parties \u2014 allows parents to receive money to send their kids to private schools or homeschool.<\/p>\n \u201cOngoing pressures like the Disney lawsuit, the expansion of vouchers and attacks on immigrant families are impacting our schools in multiple ways,\u201d McCracken told the Weekly.<\/p>\n Organizers of the new pressure campaign to get Disney to drop its lawsuits have created a petition<\/a> with their call to action for the Mouse that they say has already gotten over 1,000 signatures. Members and staffers of Unite Here Locals 362 and 737 have been canvassing neighborhoods in Orange County\u2019s District 3 (which contains Disney World) over the last month, collectively knocking on more than 12,000 doors.<\/p>\n District 3 county commissioner Mayra Uribe, State Rep. Anna Eskamani, former senator and county commission candidate Linda Stewart, and county tax collector Scott Randolph (one of the defendants in Disney\u2019s lawsuits) were all present at the town hall, getting an earful of community members\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n Following initial remarks from union leaders, several Disney World workers walked up to a podium to share their own two cents on Disney\u2019s lawsuits (collectively opposed) and its threat to school funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mac Millar, a second-generation Disney \u201ccast member\u201d (Disney World\u2019s term for its workers), said it was \u201creprehensible\u201d that Disney was choosing to move forward with its lawsuit, despite its billions in revenue. Rosa, a Disney cast member and immigrant from the Dominican Republic, said she was shocked by the United States\u2019 treatment of teachers, coming from a family of teachers herself.<\/p>\n Florida ranks<\/a> 50th out of all U.S. states and the District of Columbia for average teacher pay, and state legislators have made their jobs harder in recent years by passing laws to censor their speech<\/a>, attack their unions<\/a> and dilute funding<\/a> for public schools through expansions of the voucher program.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking people in Central Florida are struggling,\u201d said Wood, citing post-pandemic rent spikes, higher gas prices and major hikes to health insurance plans. \u201cWe think that needs to change,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The air conditioning system in the Taft Community Center was seemingly not operational Thursday night. There were no fans in the room and everyone in the room (this reporter included) was sweating. <\/p>\n The lack of airflow, however, surprisingly appeared not to deter the crowd from sticking it out and uniting around the simple idea that teachers, students and Orange County taxpayers matter more than the allegedly inflated property tax bill of a multibillion-dollar corporation.<\/p>\n \u201cPublic schools, for all of us, they reduce inequality, they give people opportunity and the tools to contribute to the rest of the community, and they make the whole community around them stronger,\u201d said Wood. \u201cOur schools need more funding, not less.\u201d<\/p>\n Disney World did not respond to Orlando Weekly\u2018s request for comment on the lawsuits or the new campaign urging them to drop them.<\/p>\n Orlando\u2019s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tThis is the second time the Orange County mayor has extended the deadline to renegotiate.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tThe right-wing provocateur running for Florida governor this year has pledged to divest from Israel, close Florida\u2019s abortion clinics, and provide paid maternity leave for mothers who can\u2019t afford not to work.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tIt was the third day of \u201cNo Kings\u201d protests since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_4281.jpg\")
Orange County Classroom Teachers Association president Clinton McCracken speaks about issues facing teachers at a town hall focused on Disney World\u2019s property tax lawsuits on April 2, 2026. Credit: McKenna Schueler<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/OCPS-budget-presentation-disney-lawsuits-item.jpg\")
Orange County Public Schools highlighted pending litigation involving Disney during a 2025-26 budget presentation. Credit: Orange County Public Schools<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Demings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775439156_66_demings.webp.webp.jpeg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775439156_149_James-Fishback-baja-blast.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Photos:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/JWS_8558.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n