Catholic schools: Catholic leaders hail small growth in school enrollment as a hopeful sign. Florida Times-Union. Publicly funded, private school choice programs in Florida are a big reason for the increase. redefinED.
Charter schools: A charter school company in Lee County gets a second chance at opening a school this fall after coming close to a district denial. Fort Myers News-Press.
Magnet schools: Pinellas County school leaders need to ensure reopening shuttered schools as magnet-style schools doesn’t widen the gap between the lottery winners and the remaining students, writes the Tampa Bay Times. Pinellas school officials hope reopening those schools as technology magnets will reclaim students who left for private schools or are on waiting lists for other choice programs. The Tampa Tribune.
Traditional schools: The Hillsborough County School Board moves forward with a plan to buy new school busses and offers orientation for new principals. Tampa Bay Times.
Education budget: Florida Gov. Rick Scott says his recommendation for lawmakers to increase education spending would be enough to push it to a record high of $18.84 billion. The Buzz. More from the Tallahassee Democrat, News Service of Florida, Fort Myers News-Press, Palm Beach Post and Sun Sentinel.
Common Core: Brevard residents rally against the new education standards during a Republican Liberty Caucus of Eastern Florida forum. Florida Today.
Teachers: Five Miami-Dade teachers compete to be named the county’s best. Miami Herald. Springstead High School social studies teacher John Imhof is the 2014 Hernando County Teacher of the Year. Tampa Bay Times.
School funding: Two lawmakers propose letting school districts raise their local property tax rates closer to the level they could charge back in 2007. Tampa Bay Times.
Testing: The Education Committee proposes a bill that would prevent districts from administering their own sets of exams in the two weeks before and after any statewide standardized assessments, including end-of-course exams. Tampa Bay Times.
