ST. CLOUD, Fla. – Florida is taking textbook publishers to court over allegations they overcharged school districts, including Osceola County, by millions of dollars.
The lawsuit, filed by the Florida attorney general, stems from a 2022 whistleblower complaint. It claims McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning violated state law by charging higher prices to some Florida schools than they gave to others.
“They got discounts as they cut deals in other places. Florida law requires the lowest price to be given to schools. They did not do that, and we will hold them accountable,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said.
The state alleges at least 5,900 overcharges were found, costing valuable resources for Florida schools. Osceola County is listed among the districts overcharged, with claims of up to $279,000 in excess fees.
“When textbook publishers apply to be placed in the state’s adopted textbook list, they agree in writing to automatically reduce the price of instructional materials to the district board to match reductions that have been made in other places throughout the United States of America. That was not being done by these two companies,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday during a news conference in St. Cloud.
“The civil penalties for this alleged textbook fraud could amount to between $37.5 million and $60.5 million between the two publishers. So, this is something that’s significant. It’s something that those resources should be going to the school districts, to the teachers, and doing ways that are going to be productive, not to pad the profits of textbook companies who are not following the letter of the law.”
Dr. Mark Shanoff, superintendent of Osceola County School District, criticized the publishers.
“They forgot who they’re doing business with. In Florida, you don’t get to squeeze out your corporate Christmas bonuses on the backs of our taxpayers or at the mercy of our students,” he said.
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