March For Our Lives: More than 1 million people are expected to attend March For Our Lives rallies Saturday in Washington, D.C., and at least 800 other sites around the world, according to the students who have organized the rallies in response to the school shootings in Parkland on Feb. 14 that killed 17. They are calling for stricter gun regulations. “It just shows that the youth are tired of being the generation where we’re locked in closets and waiting for police to come in case of a shooter,” says Alex Wind, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Associated Press.
Board member rips walkout: Marion County School Board member Nancy Stacy says Superintendent Heidi Maier’s plan to allow student walkouts on campuses April 20 is “pure liberal fascism at its finest.” Stacy says Maier is being used by the “political idiots of the left.” In a series of emails to the superintendent, Stacy also wrote that: “We all know the students didn’t arrange a thing here or Tallahassee or nationwide. This is another example of why we need (school) vouchers for parents to escape this abusive manipulation of their children’s minds.” Ocala Star-Banner.
Cruz’s brother arrested: The brother of accused Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is arrested after deputies say he trespassed onto the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus. Zachary Cruz, 18, had been warned to stay away from the school. He said he went to the school to “reflect on the shooting and to soak it in …” Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press.
School tax votes today: Voters in Sarasota and Manatee counties go to the polls today to vote on increasing property taxes by 1 mill for schools. A yes vote would increase revenue for schools in Sarasota County by about $55 million a year, and by about $33 million a year in Manatee. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald.
Bethune statue: Gov. Rick Scott signs 30 bills into law, including one that places a statue of educator Mary McLeod Bethune in the U.S. Capitol. Her statue replaces one of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith. She joins John Gorrie, widely considered the father of air conditioning, in representing Florida in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. News Service of Florida. GateHouse. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Sunshine State News.
School security: Complying with the new law to put an armed resource officer in every school will cost the Hillsborough County School District about $16 million a year more than it’s getting from the state, school officials say. That’s complicating an already strained budget. School board members will try to sort through the issues today. Gradebook. The Escambia County School Board is being asked today to approve funding for contracts to security personnel to be located in all county schools. Finding the money won’t be an issue for the next two school years, says Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, because the district has sufficient funds from its Safe Schools program. Officers from the Pensacola Police Department, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and private security companies will be used. Pensacola News Journal. WKRG.
Poverty among students: The student population in Duval County schools is getting poorer, according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture school lunch data. Almost 51 percent of the district’s students are identified as poor in this year’s data, up from about 45 percent in 2014. Overall school enrollment dropped 1.4 percent in those four years. Florida Times-Union.
CRC deliberations: The Constitution Revision Commission begins deliberations on almost 40 proposals to amend the state constitution. Several education-related proposals are being considered, including term limits for school board members. Proposals approved by the commission will go to voters in November, and would require 60 percent support to be added to the constitution. Associated Press. WFSU.
Shelter reimbursements: A new interpretation of a federal rule on reimbursements for using schools as hurricane shelters could cost Brevard County and the school district millions of dollars. The old rule had schools and counties submit separate requests for reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. But now schools will submit a bill to counties, and counties would have to pay and then ask FEMA and the DEM for reimbursement. Both counties and school districts are protesting the change, saying it creates a financial burden on them. Florida Today.
Discipline issues: Two Pinellas County School Board members split at a community meeting on questions posed about discipline in schools. Linda Lerner says she doesn’t favor the restorative method of justice, in which conflicts are settled through a formal discussion process, or the publishing of quarterly reports on disciplinary measures broken down by school and race, while Joanne Lentino does. Gradebook.
Teaching academy: The Tavares High School Teaching Academy begins in August in collaboration with the University of Central Florida. The curriculum will focus on preparing students for a career in teaching. Academy graduates can continue at UCF, earn internships at Lake County schools and be guaranteed a teaching job with the district upon graduation. Daily Commercial.
Dual enrollment: The number of Alachua County high school students taking dual enrollment classes to earn college credits is soaring. The University of Florida is admitting 2,116 students in summer or fall, up from 1,647. Santa Fe College went from 747 students in 2015 to 943 in 2017. WUFT.
Rezoning and choice: Pasco County School Superintendent Kurt Browning reverses himself and now says students who attend a school of choice now will have to reapply if their schools are affected by the zoning changes. Gradebook.
Personnel moves: Karwynn Paul, principal at Riley Elementary School in Tallahassee for 11 years, has resigned. He had been placed on administrative leave in January for “alleged misconduct,” and the district notified him of its intent to fire him. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teachers arrested: A 26-year-old 4th-grade teacher in Polk County is arrested for allegedly leaving a 4-year-old boy in her custody at home while she went out to buy marijuana. Deputies say Marsha Dolce, who teaches at Laurel Elementary in Poinciana, left her home sometime around 3 a.m. on March 17. The boy was found wandering outside their home around 6:49 a.m. wearing only a t-shirt and underwear. Lakeland Ledger. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. A teacher at a Christian school in Orlando is arrested and accused of child abuse for stomping on a 5-year-old child’s foot. Diane Williams, 53, had worked at Kingsway Christian Academy for 12 years. Miami Herald. A Hendry County teacher is arrested and accused of falsifying records in her previous job as a child protective investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families. Jessica Cirino-Lan, 28, resigned from DCF in May 2016 and was hired to teach 5th grade at Central Elementary School in Clewiston in August. WBBH.
School threats: A 33-year-old Yulee woman is arrested after threatening on Facebook to “blow everyone up” during a teacher planning day at Yulee Elementary School. Christina Marie Maddox says the post was taken out of context. WTLV. A 13-year-old boy is arrested after a Snapchat post threatening to the “shoot up” Glades Day Academy private school near Pahokee. Palm Beach Post.
Opinions on schools: Lake County school officials say the only way to fix the teacher disparity may be to blow up the current tangled pay structure and start anew. There’s some sense in that. Leaving such an unjust pay structure in place is simply wrong. Lauren Ritchie, Orlando Sentinel. On keeping guns out of the tony hands of kindergartners. Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post. The Polk County School Board, which ought to be the community’s beacon of intellectual curiosity and open debate, should resist the gut reaction to quash the idea of arming teachers. Lakeland Ledger. Is it any wonder students are walking out of the schools in protest? Is it any wonder that they don’t believe we do anything truly meaningful to make our schools safe? Bob Gabordi, Florida Today.
Student enrichment: Students at Gainesville’s Howard Bishop Middle School are getting extra mental health counseling with regular visits from professionals at the Children’s Home Society of Florida. Gainesville Sun. About 250 high-achieving, low-income Hillsborough County students get free prom clothes from the TV show Say Yes to the Dress. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF.
