Florida schools roundup: Huge raises, A/C crisis, retaliation report and more

Big raises for administrators: Eleven Broward County School District administrators received pay raises during the 2017-2018 school year ranging from 7 percent to 21 percent — far above the average 2.2 percent that most of the district’s 27,000 employees received. Six of the 11 raises were given after the massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, when the district was complaining it didn’t have enough money for resource officers and teachers. Superintendent Robert Runcie defends the raises as correcting pay inequities, though he has adjusted one downward. Sun-Sentinel.

Creation of a crisis: The crisis of escalating problems with school air-conditioners in Hillsborough County is a creation of declining funding from the state and school officials’ decisions to emphasize teaching positions over maintenance during the recession and years of devoting fewer of their funds toward maintenance than any other large district in the state. In the past decade, Hillsborough spent about $122 per student on maintenance, compared to neighboring Pinellas County’s $217 and Orange County’s $179. Now, the district is asking voters to approve adding a half-cent to the sales tax to raise $1.31 billion over the next 10 years to fix the A/C problems and tend to other deferred repair projects. Tampa Bay Times.

Retaliation validated: An investigation by a Tallahassee law firm concludes that Brevard County School Board member Andy Ziegler retaliated against a district employee who had reported him for sexual harassment. The law firm’s report says Ziegler criticized human resources director Carol Tolx, belittled her to the media and appealed to former Superintendent Desmond Blackburn to punish her. Tolx’s complaint against Ziegler alleged that he repeatedly touched the small of her back, showed up at her house uninvited and made inappropriate comments, though the actions weren’t judged to be sufficient to meet the legal threshold of sexual harassment. The latest report could be used by Tolx in a civil lawsuit against Ziegler. Florida Today.

Turnaround principals: The number of poor-performing schools in the Lee County School District has dropped from 23 to 1 in the past five years, and Superintendent Greg Adkins credits the district’s turnaround principal program. The district selects its best principals to move to struggling schools, and pays them an extra $20,000 a year for the job. Those principals are tasked with changing the school culture, providing more instruction for struggling students, training teachers and, ultimately, improving the school’s grade. Fort Myers News-Press. Principals at 21 Duval County turnaround schools are asking the NAACP and the community for help. They say they are fighting chronic absenteeism and literacy gaps, and there’s a shortage of mentors and other adults to show children how to grow up. Florida Times-Union.

Selecting superintendents: Marion County voters will decide Nov. 6 if they want to continue electing school superintendents or start appointing them. Marion is the second-largest U.S. school district to still elect superintendents. Proponents of the appointed model say public accountability is improved when a school board hires a superintendent. But others caution that appointing a superintendent will not remove politics from the relationship. Ocala Star-Banner.

Closing, reopening: Just months after an Orlando private school beset with financial problems closed, its director has opened another school in DeLand that will enroll students who receive scholarships from the state. DeLand Preparatory Academy’s director, Earl Barnett, was approved last summer by the Florida Department of Education to receive the scholarships even though he had just closed the Beta Preparatory Collegiate Academy because of financial problems, which included not paying teachers or rent or buying technology it promised to teachers and parents. Ste Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer four state scholarship programs. Orlando Sentinel.

Education and politics: Both gubernatorial candidates, Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum, have education platforms that are politically effective to their bases, but implementing either of them would be challenging. WLRN. DeSantis and other politicians are campaigning to put the U.S. Constitution back in Florida classrooms. But teachers and other educators say it’s already there, and point to the 71 percent passing rate of the more than 200,000 students who took the state civics end-of-course exam last spring. That’s 10 percentage points higher than it was five years ago. Tampa Bay Times.

Hukill’s cancer returns: State Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, announces she will not run for re-election in November because her cancer has returned and she is entering a hospice program. Hukill is a former public school elementary teacher and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Flagler LiveFlorida TodayFlorida Politics.

Retention rates: The Marion County School District has the second-lowest retention rate of any district in the state, and some school board members think that low rate may be the primary factor in the decline of school grades over the past decade. Just 1 in 1,369 Marion students is retained each year, or less than one-tenth of 1 percent. The state average is about 3 out of every 100 students, or 3 percent. Ocala Star-Banner.

School shooting liability: Parents of students killed or wounded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 are asking a court to allow them to support a family that’s challenging the limit the school district might have to pay victims. The district’s insurance company wants the court to declare the massacre as a single incident with multiple victims, which would cap its liability at $300,000 to be shared by all victims. Sun-Sentinel.

School security: The Santa Rosa County School District tightens its rules on items that are allowed at sporting events and other after-school activities. Among them: All bags are prohibited except for diaper bags, medically necessary bags and bags smaller than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, there are no tickets sales after the third quarter and there will be no re-entry. WEAR.

Radon testing requested: State Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers, is asking the state to require frequent testing for radon in schools. Sixty-four Lee County schools haven’t been tested for radon since 1996. Radon is a colorless, odorless but radioactive gas that can seep into buildings from soil or building materials. It’s the No. 1 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. WBBH.

Contract negotiations: Volusia County teachers are taking to the streets to protest the lack of progress in contract negotiations with the district. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Teacher chosen for board: A Florida teacher is named to a four-year term on the National Assessment Governing Board, which helps set policy on U.S.  student performance measures. Nardi Routten, a 4th-grade teacher at Chester A. Moore Elementary School in Fort Pierce, is one of five U.S. educators chosen for the board by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Gradebook.

School upgrades: The Leon County School District is in the midst of significant upgrades to Rickards High School and Fairview Middle School, a new transportation program that will keep track of students’ locations, and a new student information program that will provide better access and more security. Tallahassee Democrat.

School expulsions: Wharton High School had the most expulsion cases of any Hillsborough County school during the 2017-2018 academic year, according to a district report. Wharton had 28, while Lennard and Freedom high schools each had 20. Nearly all the expulsion cases resulted in students being transferred to alternative schools. Just two students were expelled, both for having loaded firearms. Gradebook.

New scholarships: Starting today, Florida car dealers will start asking buyers if they want to contribute $105 of the sales tax toward a scholarship for students who are the victims of bullying or physical violence at school. The money would help fund the Hope Scholarship, which those students could use to attend a private school or pay for transportation to a different public school. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the Hope Scholarship and three others. Gradebook.

Personnel moves: Brother Kevin Handibode is retiring after 47 years at Miami Columbus High School, the last 18 as president. His last day at the Catholic school is June 30, 2019. Miami Herald.

No charges for school chief: The chief of a now-closed Lakeland school for autistic children will not be charged with fraud or theft, the Polk County State Attorney’s Office has announced. Randy Coggins, a pastor and former head of the Monarch School, had been under investigation for a year for allegedly misappropriating school funds and defrauding the state to obtain money from the McKay scholarship program. The school closed last October after missing a deadline to apply for McKay funds. Lakeland Ledger.

Principal accused of threats: A Palm Beach County School District investigation reports that Guarn Sims, the former principal at Boynton Beach High School, had a six-month extramarital affair with a teacher at the school, then threatened her and tried to have her transferred after the affair ended. Sims was removed from the school last summer, and resigned after the district began termination proceedings. Palm Beach Post.

Ex-school employee’s plea: A 33-year-old former Lincoln Memorial Middle School employee pleads no contest to impregnating a 14-year-old student. Lamont James Houston, who was a graduate enhancement technician, pleaded no contest to charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim 12 years or older and less than 16 years old and contributing to the delinquency of a minor by a person 21 years of age or older who impregnates a child under 16 years of age. Houston faces up to 20 years in prison; sentencing is Dec. 7. Miami Herald.

Ex-teacher arrested: A former teacher at Fletcher High School in Duval County is arrested after two students said they had sex with him between 2015 and 2017, when he was teaching at the Neptune Beach school. Corey Maguire French, 30, is charged with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a 16- or 17-year-old, as well as resisting arrest without violence. Florida Times-Union.

School threat: A 32-year-old Escambia County man is arrested and accused of threatening to commit a mass shooting at a county elementary school and blowing up the county courthouse. Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials say Kelyton Maxwell made the threats in phone calls. Northwest Florida Daily News.

Students arrested: A 15-year-old student at the Okaloosa Academy in Fort Walton Beach is arrested after allegedly taking alcohol onto a school bus and passing it out to other students. Two of them got sick and had to be taken to a hospital. When confronted by a school resource officer, the girl pushed and attempted to kick the officer. She’s been charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor simple assault, and has been suspended for 10 days and permanently banned from using the bus. Northwest Florida Daily News. A Vero Beach High School student is arrested after a BB gun is found in his backpack. TCPalm.

Opinions on schools: A truly “public” school system will be realized only in the liberty and dignity of struggling parents now unable to perform their role. It is time we all grasp that what we have called “public education” is anything but; let’s at least make it so. John E. Coons, redefinED. In an ad, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson claims Republican opponent Rick Scott “subtracted $1.3 billion from public schools.” It’s true that Scott cut $1.3 billion from education spending in his first year as governor. But in each of the next seven years education spending increased, so we rate Nelson’s claim mostly false. PolitiFact Florida. A half-day training for all Sarasota County School District principals, assistant principals, district leaders and directors on how to support LGBTQ students’ well-being and success could be a possible turning point for LGBTQ youth in Sarasota. Carrie Seidman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune. We may not know what the jobs of 2030 will be, but we know what the jobs are at the moment and the Marion County School District’s career and technical education programs are getting our children ready for those opportunities. Brad Rogers, Ocala Star-Banner. The Coalition of Public Independent Charter Schools’ commitment to financial transparency, multiple measures of learning, no admissions tests for students and local, and site-based decision making could be the formula to save the charter school movement. John Merrow, the Merrow Report. Grants totaling $2 million went unused last year by Escambia County students because they didn’t fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Holly Busse, Pensacola News Journal. The Alachua County School Board acted prematurely in adopting the new equity plan for the school district because it didn’t have sufficient community buy-in. James F. Lawrence, Gainesville Sun.

Student enrichment: Students in fashion design programs at Brevard County schools design and sew pink ties for Superintendent Mark Mullins to wear during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Florida Today.


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BY NextSteps staff