Florida schools roundup: Budget priorities, a teacher’s ‘Oscar’ and more

florida-roundup-logoBudget priorities: Preliminary education budget numbers from the Florida House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee include a big bump for student uniforms and a big cut in teacher bonuses. The optional districtwide K-8 student uniforms program is budgeted for $14 million, up from $3.75 million a year ago. The Best and Brightest teacher bonuses program, which received $48 million last year, is tentatively budgeted for $13.95 million. Subcommittee chairman Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, has told committee members that millions of dollars need to be cut from the budget for schools, and that no program should be considered off-limits. Gradebook.

A teacher’s Oscar: Lukas Hefty, the magnet program coordinator at Douglas L. Jamerson Elementary in St. Petersburg, is one of 35 U.S. educators to win a 2016-17 Milken Educator Award, which is often called the “Oscars of Teaching.” Hefty is the only educator from Florida selected. He wins $25,000 and will attend a Milken educator forum in New Orleans in March. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF.

False addresses: An investigation reveals that 97 addresses given by Calusa Elementary School parents and guardians are questionable and need to be checked further. About 370 students are scheduled to be rezoned out of Calusa’s boundaries to ease overcrowding, and many parents have long suspected that some students are there because they use false addresses. The Palm Beach County School District has not said what its next step will be. Sun-Sentinel.

District rezoning: Almost 1,000 students in Seminole County will change schools in August to relieve overcrowding at six elementary schools: Highlands, Keeth, Lake Mary, Layer, Winter Springs and Woodlands. Public hearings on the boundary changes are Tuesday and Jan. 24. Orlando Sentinel.

Teacher absences: Duval County School Board members want to see more data on teacher absences, both to confirm statistics that chronic absenteeism is a problem among Duval teachers and to develop solutions. The U.S. Department of Education reported this week that more than 50 percent of Duval’s teachers missed more than 10 days of school in the 2013-2014 school year, compared to the national average of 27 percent. Florida Times-Union.

Brevard cabinet: Brevard County School Superintendent Desmond Blackburn chooses three members for his cabinet. They are: Florida Today columnist Matt Reed as assistant superintendent of government and community relations, Cocoa High principal Stephanie Soliven as assistant superintendent of secondary leading and learning, and longtime district employee Russell Cheatham as chief information officer. The school board is expected to approve the appointments Jan. 24. Florida Today.

Open enrollment: The St. Johns County School Board sets 80 percent as school capacity limits, leaving just four schools available to accept students under the state’s new open enrollment law that begins in August. The law allows any student to attend any public school that has a spot open, but allows the districts to define capacity. St. Johns school officials built future growth projections into their capacity projections. St. Augustine Record.

Missing money: Pasco County school officials will ask police to investigate the disappearance of $20,000 collected for the Sunlake High School Athletic Booster Club. An internal audit by the district suggests lax record keeping and poor reporting. “What we have is a situation where we can identify that money came in, but we can’t verify where it went,” says deputy superintendent Ray Gadd. “We just can’t figure out who misappropriated what.” Gradebook.

Employees honored: Andrew Hutcheson, an advanced placement physics teacher at Matanzas High School, is named teacher of the year in the Flagler County School District. Brandon Seminara, the assistant director of the Flagler County Youth Center, is named the district’s employee of the year. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Choice poll: Seventy-two percent of Americans now support school choice, according to the American Federation for Children’s third annual National School Choice Poll.  The 74.

Stalled lawsuit: Paul Kunz filed a lawsuit against the Palm Beach County School Board in 2015, alleging the district was violating the class-size amendment passed by Florida’s voters in 2002. A year and a half later, the Boca Raton lawyer is still waiting for a circuit judge to rule on a motion that will decide if the case moves forward. Palm Beach Post.

School bus lawsuit: The parents of a 5-year-old Riverview boy are suing the Hillsborough County School Board after the boy was put on the wrong school bus and dropped off at the wrong stop July 28, 2016. The boy is a student at Summerfield Elementary School. SaintPetersblog.

Whistleblower lawsuits: A former behavior specialist at Maximo Elementary School is suing the Pinellas County School District, saying she was fired for reporting a case of child abuse. Emily Vaultonburg says she saw a man beating his 10-year-old nephew with a belt in a school bathroom on Sept. 27. She says she reported the incident to principal LaKisha Falana, and was fired two hours later. Gradebook. An appeals court overturned the dismissal of a whistleblower’s lawsuit against the Monroe County School Board. In 2009, former district finance chief Katherine Reitzel alleged that district credit cards were being misused by Monique Acevedo, who headed the district’s adult education department and was then the wife of Superintendent Randy Acevedo. Both were convicted. But Reitzel was blamed for not bringing the thefts to the attention of the school board sooner, and the interim superintendent ordered Reitzel to retire or be fired. She retired, then later sued for wrongful dismissal. The case now goes back to the Keys for trial. Keynoter.

Championship vacated: Pahokee High School has been stripped of its Class 1A state football championship for using an ineligible player, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association. Palm Beach Post.

Guns at game: A 22-year-old man is arrested and charged with bringing a gun to a high school basketball game at Palm Beach Lakes High School in West Palm Beach. Brian V. McKelton has a concealed weapons permit, but it’s still illegal to have a gun on school property. Palm Beach Post.

Students arrested: A freshman at DeLand High School is arrested after a loaded gun is found in his backpack at school. Daytona Beach News-Journal. A 16-year-old Wildwood Middle High School student is arrested at school and charged with robbery, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm on school property and possession of marijuana, The student allegedly pistol-whipped a store clerk during a robbery. Daily Commercial.

Opinions on schools: Opponents of Florida’s tax credit scholarship program are singling out the only choice program that exclusively serves low-income and working-class students. And it’s not a coincidence. They knew if they attacked other programs, parents with money and connections would fight back. Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin, Florida Times-Union. When parents are empowered to customize their children’s education, just as they choose so many other things in their day-to-day lives, great things happen for kids and for our country. Andrew R. Campanella, Apalachicola Times.

Student enrichment: A memorial to Cpl. Tommy Jardas Memorial is being dedicated Saturday at Cypress Lake High School. Jardas, a 2011 graduate, was one of 12 Marines killed in a helicopter crash a year ago. Fort Myers News-Press. Hundreds of Bay County School District students take part in the nationwide MathCounts competition. Panama City News Herald.


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BY NextSteps staff