That court ruling now requires funds to be recouped from various taxing authorities — including the school board. Property taxes are a sizable source of public school funding, and taxes that Disney paid have already been paid out to Orange County schools. The FEFP funds were withheld in January to help offset Disney’s tax refund, said Scott Howatt, president of the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools and OCPS chief communications officer.

“Without prior notification, explanation, or supporting calculations, the School Board (sic) passed on these costs to the School (sic) by deducting funds directly from FEFP payments,” Dwyer’s memo reads. “The School (sic) was provided no accounting of how the charges were calculated, no methodology explaining the allocation, and no justification for the amount withheld.”

Dwyer wants to know “the basis for charging the school”; how the amount withheld was calculated; whether proper notice was given; and, most importantly, she wants the return of improperly taken funds. 

OACS was not the only school affected, said Howatt. Orange County has 41 charter schools, and Howatt told VoxPopuli that each had funding withheld. 

“This money, they’re not entitled to it. This is the property owner’s money,” he said.

He added that Dwyer should have been aware of the coming impacts of the Disney litigation. 

“We do public meetings every year on the budget, and this lawsuit that’s been pending out there between property owners and the property appraiser has been discussed at all of those,” he said. “… I personally, along with the tax collector, met with and invited every charter school operator to come and talk to them about the impact of the lawsuit and what this would mean financially once these were settled.”

Michael Ollendorf, OCPS public information officer, told VoxPopuli that all of Orange County’s charter schools were “aware of their financial responsibility,” but that OACS was the only school that has objected. 

Dwyer declined a request for comment. 

In her memo to the town commission, Dwyer estimated that mediation with the school board could cost upwards of $25,000. VoxPopuli reached out to Oakland Mayor Shane Taylor to ask if that was a good use of town funds. He responded by text that he had "no comment or updates" to offer. Likewise, VoxPopuli asked Vice Mayor Mike Satterfield, who serves as liaison to OACS, but at press time, we had not heard back. We'll update the story if we do.

Meanwhile, still more FEFP payments may be skimmed in coming months. Disney has been filing lawsuits, alleging the Orange County property appraiser has overvalued its parks, resorts and hotels, each year, since 2015. By the end of 2025, Disney had filed another 15 lawsuits, which included the Magic Kingdom, Fort Wilderness Resort and the Grand Floridian Resort.

If all the lawsuits since 2015 are settled, OCPS’s share of the repayment is estimated to be $119 million, according to its 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

FEFP payments were not withheld in February, March or April. But on April 1, a joint notice of settlement between the property appraiser and Disney for its Art of Animation Resort, covering the tax years 2015 to 2023, was submitted to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court. 

If the remaining lawsuits go the same way as the Disney Pop Century Resort lawsuit, said Ollendorff, OACS could be on the hook for another $300,000. 

Norine Dworkin contributed reporting.