Israel out in Broward: The Florida Senate votes 25-15 to uphold Gov. Ron DeSantis’ removal of Scott Israel as sheriff of Broward County because of his department’s failures during the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 and at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2017. The vote on Wednesday was mostly along party lines, with most Republicans backing DeSantis and most Democrats voting to have Israel reinstated. “I hope the outcome provides some measure of relief to the Parkland families that have been doggedly pursuing accountability,” said DeSantis. Israel denounced the process, saying it “was a sham” and that “politics won.” He says he’ll run for the office in 2020. Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. GateHouse. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. Florida Phoenix. WLRN. Lawyers for the accused Parkland school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, said Wednesday they won’t be ready for the scheduled Jan. 27 start of the trial and that the judge is giving them grounds for appeal by not delaying it. But Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer ruled the trial will start as scheduled. Associated Press. WLRN.
Schools to drug-test students: Three private schools in Duval County have announced they will randomly test students for drugs and alcohol during the 2020-2021 school year. The Bolles School, Episcopal School of Jacksonville and Bishop Kenny High School all will take saliva tests to check for 15 types of drugs, including amphetamines, sedatives, cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, opiates and oxycodone. The schools did not say how often testing would be conducted. Officials from the schools say repeat violators will be subject to school discipline, but not criminal prosecution. Florida Times-Union. WJXT.
Contract negotiations: The Orange County School District’s latest contract offer to teachers calls for an average 6 percent raises but no bonuses. Teachers rated highly effective would receive $3,000 raises, instead of the $2,025 previously offered, and effective teachers would get $2,400 instead of $1,625. More than 80 percent of the county’s teachers are rated highly effective. “We heard the teachers loud and clear,” said district spokesman Scott Howatt, noting the teachers union rejected the earlier offer. “They didn’t want bonuses, they wanted salary. So the board came back and said, ‘Let’s take the non-recurring bonus, we’ll put it into salary.’ ” The district also offered to pay half the cost of insurance premium increases through January. Orlando Sentinel. WKMG. Spectrum News 13.
Security in schools: Pasco County school officials say they want to add surveillance cameras and window coverings in the coming year to boost security for schools. The district expects to receive about $1.2 million in grants from the state for the upgrades. About $2.2 million from the state, awarded after the 2018 Parkland school shooting, has already been used for cameras and door locks. Gradebook. Central Florida school districts will receive about $4.1 million in federal grants to improve school security through training of students and staff. Osceola News-Gazette. Four high schools in Leon County are getting large, mounted outdoor speakers installed to broadcast information during an emergency. Tallahassee Democrat.
Storm damage: The Calhoun County School District is still trying to piece together $20 million to make renovations and build new classrooms at schools damaged by Hurricane Michael more than a year ago. The district anticipates getting $7 million in insurance money, and is counting on state and federal grants and the Legislature to help it raise the rest. Tallahassee Democrat. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to fund repair projects at 117 Polk County schools that were damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Lakeland Ledger. The Bay County School District is working on a plan to deal with the trauma students are living with a year after Hurricane Michael. Substance abuse education, suicide prevention and mental health awareness are among the programs being offered to students, faculty and staff. WMBB.
High school graduations: The Lee County School Board has approved holding high school graduation ceremonies at three locations over the 2020 Memorial Day weekend. All graduations will be either Saturday, May 23, or Sunday, May 24, at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Alico Arena or Hertz Arena. The district has about 5,500 seniors. Fort Myers News-Press.
ACT test changes: ACT Inc. is changing the way it scores its college entrance exams next year, which could improve some students’ college applications. Starting next September, students will be able to retake certain sections of the test, and use their highest scores from each section and across all attempts. Florida Today.
District health insurance rates: Health insurance premiums could double for some Hernando County School District teachers and other employees after the school board renewed its contract with Florida Blue. The overall increase is about 10 percent, but some employee-only plans are going up 60 percent to more than 100 percent. Insurance officials say they had to raise rates because claims were higher than expected. Tampa Bay Times.
Selective charters ban? For the past two years, charter schools have been banned from taking part in the Palm Beach County School District’s annual Showcase of Schools, a marketing event for schools that was attended this week by more than 10,000 parents. But this year, a few charter schools — all managed by the politically connected company Charter Schools USA — were invited to attend. Other charter companies question why they weren’t invited. “We never got an invitation,” said Marie Turchiaro, executive director of Palm Beach Maritime Academy. “We were told straight up the last couple of years that we were not allowed to go.” District spokeswoman Claudia Shea said that any charters that requested to attend were invited. Palm Beach Post.
New school: The Bay County School District is moving ahead with plans for a new K-5 school in Panama City Beach a year after the plans were put on hold by Hurricane Michael. The school will be built to hold up to 800 students, and is projected to open by August 2021. Panama City News Herald.
Superintendent mocked: Sarasota County school Superintendent Todd Bowden’s acknowledged visit to a Detroit strip club during a work conference, revealed in a deposition, is being used as a punch line by the teachers union. A digital sign outside union headquarters reads: “Recruiting 101 Don’t recruit teachers in a strip club!” Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Superintendent’s legal fees: The Marion County School Board thinks Superintendent Heidi Maier’s attorney is charging too much, and has passed a resolution requiring a board review of those expenses before they are scheduled, approved and paid. Maier hired Henry Ferro to represent her after the board launched an investigation into whistleblower complaints against her. Ferro’s fee is $425 an hour. Ocala Star-Banner.
Personnel moves: Sarah Barker has been appointed assistant principal at Gulf Breeze High School in Santa Rosa County. She replaces Tori Baker, who resigned after being implicated in a grade-changing scandal. Pensacola News Journal.
Educator honored: Deborah Hartog has been named the Lake County School District’s assistant principal of the year. She’s been an assistant principal at Triangle Elementary School since 2015. Daily Commercial.
Notable deaths: F.E. “Buz” Spooner, a teacher in the Palm Beach County School District for 17 years and a principal for 25 more, has died at the age of 85. He was well-known for organizing and leading the annual safety patrol trip to Washington, D.C. Palm Beach Post.
School employee pay: The average pay for a Seminole County school employee is $41,486, and $48,614 for Orange County School District workers, according to an analysis of each district’s payroll data. Orlando Business Journal.
Ice tubs and student-athletes: Florida leads the nation with four high school athlete heat-related deaths in the past nine years, and 47 U.S. high school football players have died from exertional heat stroke since 1995, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injuries. But many schools still do not have ice tubs available to cool off overheated players. Miami Herald.
Football team cancels season: Another Florida high school football team has canceled the rest of its season out of what the school district called a concern for student safety. Franklin County High School won’t play its final two games, and the school also fired football coach Josh Palmer. Apalachicola Times.
Animals and schools: Rats have been found in the media center at Maitland Middle School in Orange County, and school officials have closed the center as they try to eliminate the rodents. WKMG. A black bear that had been feeding from a dumpster at night at Ocala Springs Elementary School has been captured and relocated to the Ocala National Forest. Ocala Star-Banner.
Teacher arrested: A teacher at Riviera Middle School in Miami has been arrested and accused of groping a female student in a school library closet earlier this month. Roberto Schwartz, 42, is alleged to have grabbed the student’s breasts. The victim told her mother, whose call to the school prompted an investigation that led to Schwartz’s arrest and firing. Miami Herald. WPLG.
Students and the law: Three people, at least one of them a student at West Pine Middle School in Sunrise, are being questioned by police after the student allegedly told a classmate that he brought a gun to school. No gun was found. Sun Sentinel. WFOR.
Opinions on schools: The Legislature can fix the flaws in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to boost starting teacher salaries by giving Florida’s school board members the flexibility to address their own communities’ priorities. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Should we refer to our movement as “education choice” or “education freedom”? That’s a big discussion these days, and I fought the urge to say, “Who cares?” Catherine Durkin Robinson, redefinED. The four-year program at Tavares Teaching Academy helps students understand how children view teachers, how large teachers loom in their small lives and how heavy is the responsibility teachers bear in educating a new generation. Lauren Ritchie, Orlando Sentinel. Instead of criticizing local schools, the commander of the Naval Air Station Pensacola should be helping find solutions to make the schools better. Rodney Jones, Pensacola News Journal.
