Panel’s recommendations: The state commission investigating the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings rejects a move to require a sworn police officer at every school in the state, saying such a mandate would cost about $400 million a year. Instead, the panel approves a recommendation to require at least one police officer at every high school and middle school in the state, with elementary schools being covered by armed security guards or school employees. Associated Press. TCPalm. WLRN. A video combining surveillance footage, animation of the school shooter’s action and recordings of police calls is shown to the panel. It depicts Broward deputy Scot Peterson hiding during the massacre. Peterson will testify at the commission’s October meeting. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Chairman Bob Gualtieri says he wants to make the commission’s final report open to the public. Sun-Sentinel. Criminal law experts say the addiction and propensity for violence of accused shooter Nikolas Cruz’s birth mother could be used as an argument against his execution. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel.
Amendment 8: Florida Supreme Court justices hear arguments for and against proposed constitutional Amendment 8. The amendment, put forward by the Constitution Revision Commission, would set term limits for school board members, require civics education in schools and create an entity other than local school boards that can approve charter and public schools. The League of Women Voters is asking the amendment be removed from the ballot because it’s “misleading.” Attorneys for the state dispute that. A decision is expected soon. Meanwhile, Amendment 8 was removed from another court challenge to six bundled amendments. “It didn’t make a lot of sense for us to spend a lot of time here on issues that are being heard across town,” says Leon County Judge Karen Gievers. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. Miami Herald. Gradebook. Florida Phoenix.
District budgets: Palm Beach County School Board members approve a budget of $3.1 billion, which is $330 million lower than last year’s but includes $50 million more for operations for higher enrollment and school security. The board is asking voters in November to approve a property tax increase that would boost district revenue by about $150 million a year. Palm Beach Post. The Flagler County School Board approves a $189,672,241 budget that includes the lowest tax rate in 25 years. Still, the rate is one of the highest in the state. Superintendent James Tager tells the board the district is close to becoming an “A” district. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
School security: Students, teachers and staff in Duval County schools begin drills this month on how to respond to an active shooter scenario. They’ll learn the “run-hide-fight” response recommended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Age-appropriate videos are on hold until the district can get feedback from parents. Florida Times-Union. The Lee County School District would receive an extra $2.2 million for school security if the Legislature releases $58 million of unused money from the school guardian program, as Gov. Rick Scott has requested. Fort Myers News-Press. The Miami-Dade County Commission begins hearings today on its budget, which now includes $20 million to assign 120 officers to county schools. Miami Herald. After a recent shooting at a Palm Beach County high school football game, a Wellington company donates thousands of clear backpacks to city schools to make to easier for officers to see what students are bringing into stadiums. Palm Beach Post.
Teacher pay penalty: The teacher pay penalty has grown in recent years and stands at a record high, according to a study by the union-backed think tank Economic Policy Institute. Teachers now make about 20 percent less than other college graduates. In Florida, the gap is 25.7 percent. Even after accounting for better benefits for teachers, the national gap is about 11 percent, according to the analysis. Economic Policy Institute. Chalkbeat.
Paycheck problems: Ongoing problems with the Manatee County School District’s new business systems software has led to employees being shorted on their paychecks and difficulties in ordering school supplies and construction materials. The $10 million project came in twice as expensive as projected and a year late, and district officials are trying to get the vendor to fix the problems. Bradenton Herald.
Teacher test failures: School officials in Miami-Dade, Osceola, Lee, Collier and Polk counties are calling on the state to lower the scores needed to pass the Florida Teacher Certificate Exam, or allow exceptions based on advanced degrees or effective or highly effective evaluations for teachers. The exams were toughened in 2015, and the percentage of people passing it has dropped from 90 percent to 64 percent. That is contributing significantly to the existing shortage of teachers, those officials argue. WPTV.
Home schooling up: The number of home-schooled students in Florida continues to increase steadily. In the 2017-2018 school year, the number of students educated at home was 89,817, a 2.7 percent increase over the previous year and a nearly 50 percent increase since the 2008-2009 school year, according to the annual report by the Florida Department of Education. redefinED.
Displaying state motto: After hearing complaints from teachers, Palm Beach County school officials are replacing “In God We Trust” signs in schools with the state seal, which includes a less prominent display of the motto. Schools are now required to show the motto in a prominent place. District teachers complained about the signs, saying it violates the principle of church and state separation. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
District construction: Broward County school officials say rapidly rising costs could cut into the $800 million bond the district is drawing from to repair schools. Judith Marte, chief financial officer, says the school board may have some tough decisions to make. But she also told board members there is the possibility that $172 million can be made available if necessary, and the district already has $188 million in reserves for the bond program. Sun-Sentinel.
Superintendent explains choice: Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas says he used the best information available when he decided to keep schools open Wednesday as Tropical Storm Gordon approached. In retrospect, he says, “Obviously, if there’s one where I can get a do-over this might be the one.” WEAR.
Autonomous school shuttle: The Babcock Neighborhood School, a charter school located in a solar-powered community in Charlotte County, is expected to begin using a self-driving school shuttle for students who live in the new town. About 30 of the 316 students in the K-7 school will be eligible to use the 12-person shuttle. Charlotte Sun.
District drone project: The Gulf County School District applies for a $750,000 grant from the fund established with fines from the BP oil spill to begin a program that would offer students a path to industry certification in operating drones. Port St. Joe Star.
Charter’s contract: Officials at the oldest charter school in Pasco County say they are reconsidering renewing a contract that had been put on hold over a disagreement on district capital funds going to charter schools. John Legg, founder of Dayspring Academy, says the district’s acknowledgment that it must share capital funding from the state with charters in the future led to the decision. The school board declined to share this year, which it is permitted to do because of its high construction debt ratio. Gradebook.
Personnel moves: Kelly Burke is named principal at Olympic Heights High School in Boca Raton. The former Addison Mizner Elementary principal takes over for David Clark, who is taking a leave of absence to care for his ailing wife. Palm Beach Post.
School officer criticized: State Rep. Matt Willhite, D-Wellington, faces a backlash after criticizing a Wellington Landings Middle School police officer for not doing his job when he was struck by a car while directing traffic last December. Last week, Willhite wrote on Facebook: “… maybe if the cop was doing his job as an SRO (school resource officer) and not as a traffic director, he wouldn’t have gotten hit.” The officer, Bob Keating, suffered broken knee bones, three herniated discs and internal bleeding, and was off work until Aug. 1. Willhite has since apologized. Palm Beach Post.
School dress code: More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to revise the dress code at Pacetti Bay Middle School and other St. Johns County schools, saying it discriminates against female students. St. Augustine Record. Do school dress codes discriminate against girls? Education Week.
Format for playoffs: The Florida High School Athletic Association’s proposed changes to state playoffs for high school basketball, soccer, baseball, softball and volleyball get a muted reception at a meeting of the athletic director advisory committee. A vote on the proposal, which would eliminate districts, end classifications by school enrollment for all but the rural division, and cut the current number of divisions from nine to seven, is scheduled Oct. 29. Lakeland Ledger. St. Augustine Record.
Teacher fired: A math teacher at Everglades High School in Broward County is fired by the school board for coming to work drunk and passing out in class. A lawyer for Curtis Wiles, 40, acknowledges Wiles has an alcohol problem, but deserves a second chance. Sun-Sentinel.
Student arrested: A 16-year-old former Buchholz High School student is arrested after she took a gun onto the Gainesville campus and threatened another student. She is charged with aggravated assault, armed trespassing, having a gun at a school and resisting with violence. Gainesville Sun.
PTA money missing: The Miami-Dade County School District’s police department is investigating a report that “thousands of dollars” is missing from South Pointe Elementary School’s PTA. PTA officials say they are conducting an audit to see if the funds were stolen or whether it’s a case of poor bookkeeping. Miami Herald.
School vandalized: Three juveniles and an adult are arrested and charged with breaking into and vandalizing Waller Elementary School in Youngstown over the Labor Day weekend. School officials are asking for the community’s help in replacing stolen and damaged supplies. Panama City News Herald.
Opinions on schools: Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, chairman of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, is putting public safety and government accountability at the forefront by calling for the panel’s report on the Stoneman Douglas massacre to be made as public as possible. This state commission owes Floridians a fair, accurate, complete and transparent account of the tragedy so this state can adopt significant reforms to make its children and its schools safer. Tampa Bay Times. Here’s hoping Hillsborough County School Board members didn’t doom transportation improvements by having their own tax referendum also placed on the ballot. Sue Carlton, Tampa Bay Times. Boosting pay for school bus drivers was a good move, not only to lure some of these folks back home, but to demonstrate to all drivers that their efforts are valued and appreciated. Lakeland Ledger. If there is unspent money in the state budget that could help fund additional deputies, we think it would be a good idea to get it to local districts rather than keeping it in the budget hoping it will be used to fund a poorly considered program of arming school personnel. Citrus County Chronicle. It is wrong for the opposition to limit the Amendment 8 debate to charter schools, when the proposal is about opportunities for innovation well beyond charters. Erika Donalds, Sunshine State News.
Student enrichment: Two hundred and fifty 8th-graders at Jacksonville Ribault Middle School are presented with laptops and six months of free Internet service from Comcast and other school district partners. Florida Times-Union.
