Education budget: A Senate subcommittee approves a bill that would require the state to pay at least half of the proposed increase in K-12 spending. Gov. Rick Scott’s budget calls for a spending increase of $507 million in K-12 spending, but with $427 million coming through local property taxes. Politico Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Palm Beach Post. News Service of Florida.
Recess bill dies: The Senate will not take up the issue of mandatory daily recess in elementary schools. The Senate Education Committee chairman, Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, says the idea should be handled on the local level. Gradebook.
Charter construction: Charter schools that serve low-income or disabled students would get a higher priority for capital funding under a bill passed by a Senate subcommittee. The House version of the bill provides capital money to charter schools with no such stipulations. Politico Florida. Miami Herald. Residents of Golden Gates Estates in Naples want more say about charter school locations. Naples Daily News.
Choice support: The Pinellas County School District ranks seventh in the United States in offering school choice, according to rankings by the Brookings Institution. Other Florida districts in the top 100 are Broward (15th), Lee and Seminole (tied for 16th), Dade and Duval (tied for 18th), Pasco (28th), Orange and Brevard (tied for 32nd), Osceola (43rd), Palm Beach (49th), Hillsborough (51st), and Polk and Volusia (tied for 54th). Tampa Bay Times.
Writing test extension: Florida students will get two hours to complete the computerized Florida Standards Assessments writing test later this month. Last year they had 90 minutes with an option for 30 more, but only if they knew about the option. Gradebook.
Statue on last leg: The Florida Senate votes to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith from the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol. Pasco County Dayspring Academy students visiting Washington, D.C., questioned the selection of Smith. So State Sen. John Legg, who founded and still works at the charter school, introduced a bill. A companion bill is moving through the House. Gradebook. Politico Florida. Florida Politics.
Vitti vs. board: A Duval County School Board member has sent text messages calling for the firing of Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. Connie Hall sent the messages to a district staffer in September, complaining about Vitti’s lack of respect toward the board. Vitti, who has proposed significant changes in the district, says the comments are part of a hostile work environment created by certain board members. WJCT.
Superintendent query: State auditors will investigate a $700,000 computer software purchase authorized by Polk County School Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy. It was one of nine allegations of misconduct filed by an associate superintendent against LeRoy. She was cleared, but the school board is expected to vote today on whether to fire her. Lakeland Ledger.
Teaching exodus: Teacher departures in Hernando County more than doubled from 2012-2013 to 2014-2015, according to school officials. The president of the Hernando Classroom Teachers Association blames the pressures of testing and other state requirements. Tampa Bay Times.
Book honors pioneer: A new book chronicles the life of a pioneer among black educators. Gilbert L. Porter, PhD, by Abraham Thomas, tells the story of the man who was the first executive secretary of the Florida State Teachers Association and the first black assistant superintendent for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Miami Times.
Leggings crackdown: More than 50 girls at Washington High School are sent to the principal’s office to see if the leggings they were wearing conform to the dress code. Pensacola News Journal.
Contract negotiations: A tentative deal between the Volusia County School District and the union representing bus drivers and cafeteria workers breaks down. The union says the district changed the details of what the workers would pay for health insurance after an agreement on the deal. All three unions representing school employees are now at an impasse with the district. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Property resolution: After Hurricane Andrew, the Miami-Dade County School District put a fence around an open piece of property beside an elementary school in Perrine. But the district didn’t own the land. Now, more than 20 years later, a jury orders the district to remove the fence and pay the brothers who own it $200,000. Miami Herald.
Teacher charged: A teacher at Waller Elementary School in Youngstown is charged with child abuse. Authorities say Amanda Austin, 45, locked a special-needs 4-year-old in a closet. Panama City News Herald.
Teacher resigns: A teacher who is discovered with a gun in his backpack at St. Joseph Academy resigns. Grady Heiss taught science and technology at the Catholic private school. St. Augustine Record.
Gunfire hits schools: Stray bullets hit two Miami-Dade schools this week during school hours. No one is injured. Miami Herald.
Opinions on schools: The best of this year’s Legislature include an education bill. And so does the worst of this year’s Legislature. Paula Dockery, Tampa Tribune. When a well-respected veteran coach talks about the practical effects of sports classifications and districts that determine schedules and travel, the Florida High School Athletic Association should listen. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Student attendance is a shared responsibility between parents and the school. Paul D. Bohac, Panama City News Herald.
Student enrichment: Fifteen are honored as the state’s most outstanding volunteers by Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. Florida Department of Education. Bradenton Herald. Orlando Sentinel. St. Augustine Record. First-graders at Brooksville’s Pine Grove Elementary School send handmade cards and paper tissue flowers to Alzheimer’s patients. Tampa Bay Times. Two Alachua County students qualify for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix. Gainesville Sun.
