
Jennifer Jenkins
$1.3 million for her lawyers. Meant for our classrooms.
Jennifer Jenkins picked fights on the school board, then sued the board she sat on. Brevard schools got stuck with more than $1.3 million in legal bills. That is money straight out of our classrooms.
The bills
What she cost Brevard schools.
Two court fights, straight from the school board's own legal bills, dated June 9, 2026.
Lawyers got paid. Taxpayers got the bill.
| The parents' free speech lawsuitWhile Jennifer Jenkins was on the board, the board made rules about what parents could say at meetings. A federal court threw them out. The lawsuit named all five board members, including her. Only the claim against the board chair went forward on appeal.U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, case 23-10656, October 8, 2024 | $982,131.25 |
| Jenkins sues her own school boardIn March 2023 she took the school board she sat on, and its chairman, to court in a fight over public records. The district was still getting bills for it as of May 2026.Florida Today, March 8, 2023: "Brevard school board member Jenkins sues Susin over public records fight". Jenkins v. Brevard County School Board and Susin, Fourth Amended Complaint, Brevard County Circuit Court case 05-2023-CA-018437, December 18, 2023. | $348,978.52 |
| Total legal billsBrevard County School Board legal services ledgers, June 9, 2026 | $1.3 million+ |
More than $1.3 million for lawyers. That money should have gone to classrooms.
Where this comes from
- Brevard County School Board legal services ledgers, dated June 9, 2026 (public records): two ledgers covering January 2022 to February 2026 and December 2022 to May 2026.
- Florida Today, March 8, 2023: "Brevard school board member Jenkins sues Susin over public records fight": Jenkins files suit against the school board and its chairman.
- Jenkins v. Brevard County School Board and Susin, Fourth Amended Complaint, Brevard County Circuit Court case 05-2023-CA-018437, December 18, 2023: her own court filing in the case.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, case 23-10656, October 8, 2024: the ruling that the board's public comment rules were unconstitutional.
- Institute for Free Speech case page: the case history from the plaintiffs' lawyers.