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Education advisory board asks Fort Lauderdale commission to consider aviation scholarships and funding for climate-awareness art program
Summary
The city's Education Advisory Board requested support in the budget process for aviation scholarships tied to the Barrington Irving Technical Training School at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and asked the commission to consider funding an expanded Fortify Lauderdale/Underwater program for schools and parks.
Representatives of the Fort Lauderdale Education Advisory Board briefed the City Commission on June 3 about two budget-related requests: funding to support aviation workforce scholarships tied to the Barrington Irving Technical Training School (BITS) at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), and expansion of the Fortify Lauderdale/Underwater climate-awareness program to schools and parks in the city.
Juliet Grama Williams, who said she represents the Education Advisory Board, described BITS (Barrington Irving Technical Training School) as a workforce-development program that would be housed in a donated hangar at FXE and would expose Broward County students to aviation careers. She said the board had previously approved a $2,500 allocation for two scholarships and is now asking the commission to consider scholarships and program-start funding in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
Susan Lianne, the city chief education officer, explained the school district's involvement: Broward County Public Schools has discussed partnerships and offered in-kind commitments (materials, supplies, uniforms) and had preliminarily committed approximately $20,000 toward supplies. Lianne said the city-requested $200,000 figure in the advisory-board communication reflected a broader package to build a hands-on workforce classroom and procure equipment; she clarified it would not be the total cost to fully outfit the program.
Underwater / Fortify Lauderdale request: The advisory board also asked the commission to consider funding to expand the Underwater interactive art and elevation-marking program (a Fortify Lauderdale partnership) to at least five schools or parks, at a proposed cost of roughly $51,205 for five locations, to raise youth awareness about sea-level and elevation.
Commission questions focused on coordination with Broward County Public Schools, prior similar programs available at little or no cost, and whether the budget advisory board and budget development process had been engaged. Staff said both items would be considered as part of the fiscal-year 2026 budget process.
