An Eatonville community advocacy group has sued the School Board of Orange County, trying to stop a tentative $14 million deal that would transfer roughly 117 acres of district-owned land in the town. The complaint says the board pushed the deal through closed-door discussions and argues that selling the property would betray its long history as land reserved for education. The filing is the latest turn in a yearslong fight over the Hungerford property, which residents describe as central to Eatonville’s cultural identity.
As reported by the Orlando Business Journal, the complaint challenges a tentative purchase-and-sale agreement that values the parcel at $14 million and says plaintiffs believe the board decided key terms in private meetings. The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community is asking a judge to declare the district’s actions unlawful and to freeze any transfer while the case plays out. According to that report, plaintiffs also point to objections from the Southern Poverty Law Center about both the process and the need to preserve the town’s heritage.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The suit leans on two main claims: that a 1951 deed restricted the land for educational uses, and that the board failed to follow required public procedures before moving toward a private sale. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has represented Eatonville advocates in earlier litigation, has argued that the district cannot shrug off the original donor’s intent and treat the parcel as ordinary surplus property. Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the district’s 2022 release of the deed restriction invalid and to block any sale while that issue is resolved, according to the SPLC.
Deal Terms and Local Backlash
Public meeting records reviewed earlier this year show the draft agreement would set the purchase price at $14 million but require only $1 million at closing if certain development milestones are met. Up to $13 million would be tied to post-closing commitments to community projects. Eatonville leaders have told the board they felt sidelined by the talks and asked for more time to pitch a town-led plan that could feature a museum, early learning center, and affordable housing. Those meeting records and the milestone structure were detailed by Spectrum News.
The parcel at issue, the historic Hungerford property, has been at the center of repeated fights over ownership and use for years. Advocates say the land was conveyed with limits meant to preserve its educational mission, and past filings describe the site as vital to Eatonville’s identity. “This is not any ordinary piece of land,” SPLC attorney Kirsten Anderson told WFTV during earlier court hearings over the Hungerford dispute.
Legal Issues To Watch
Plaintiffs’ central legal arguments focus on enforcing the 1951 deed restriction and on alleged violations of Florida law governing disposal of school property. State law requires a district school board to adopt a resolution declaring that property is unnecessary for educational purposes before it can be disposed of, and plaintiffs say Orange County Public Schools did not follow that procedure. If a judge finds the deed restriction still binding or concludes the district skipped required steps, any sale could be voided or significantly delayed. For the statutory framework, see Fla. Stat. § 1013.28.
Local Reaction
Eatonville officials and residents have long pushed for community control of the Hungerford site instead of a quick transfer to an outside entity. The town council felt sidelined as the board moved toward a vote, and that sense of exclusion is a big part of why activists are back in court. The lawsuit puts old questions back on the table about stewardship, memory, and who should decide the future of Eatonville’s most consequential asset.
The complaint asks a judge to block any transfer while the court sorts out the deed and the board’s process, and a ruling for plaintiffs could scuttle or significantly reshape the deal. The district will have a chance to respond in court, and the school board has not publicly reversed course on how it wants to proceed, the Orlando Business Journal reports. For now, the fate of the Hungerford property hinges on how judges read decades-old deed language and whether the board stayed inside the lines of Florida law while advancing the sale.
