K-12 education budgets: The Florida House released its $22.6 billion K-12 education budget on Thursday, which calls for spending $181 more per student, sets aside $334.4 million for districts if 48,000 unaccounted-for students return to classrooms, allocates $500 million for teacher raises and eliminates a scholarship program that provides $500 to struggling readers for materials and tutoring, among other things. The Senate’s budget proposes spending $22.1 billion for K-12, with no change in per-student spending, making $350 million available if “missing” students return to schools, putting $500 million toward teacher raises, and maintaining Bright Futures spending at its current level. The chambers will now begin negotiations to reconcile the differences. In January, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a K-12 budget of $22.8 billion that included $550 million for teacher raises. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida.
Higher education budgets: Spending on higher education would decline by $593 million for the 2021-2022 academic year under the Florida House proposal released Thursday. Among the planned cuts: $132.5 million from performance funding to universities, $41.1 million in private college student grants, and $37.5 million in textbook allowances from the Bright Futures Scholarships program. Representatives said some of the reductions would be offset by federal coronavirus aid. The Senate’s proposed budget trims higher education spending by $217 million over and above a $27.5 million reduction through “administrative efficiencies.” More details about the Senate budget are expected to be released today. Politico Florida.
Also in the Legislature: A bill allowing people to carry guns into religious institutions even if they have schools on the property is now before the full House for a vote. Florida Politics. A bill that would increase access to dual-enrollment classes has been approved by the Senate. WTXL. A proposal to shield schools, businesses and health-care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits was approved by a House committee. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Florida Politics. The Senate has approved a bill that would ask voters to abolish the Constitution Revision Commission, which recommends amendments to the state constitution every 20 years. It still needs to win House support. Associated Press. Several bills are offering expanded mental health services, but none unifies the multiple options into a single plan tailored to a person who needs help. Tampa Bay Times.
Coronavirus vaccinations: The eligibility age for a coronavirus vaccination shot, which dropped from 60 to 50 on Monday, will be lowered to 40 next Monday and then to 18 on April 5, Gov. DeSantis announced Thursday. “We’re ready to take this step,” DeSantis said in a video posted on social media. “We want to keep up that momentum as we expand eligibility to other age groups throughout the state of Florida.” News Service of Florida. Associated Press. WPTV. WKMG. Orlando Sentinel. Gainesville Sun. USA Today Florida Network.
Around the state: Hillsborough school officials are moving ahead with plans to cut 1,000 jobs by the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, the final community meeting to discuss the proposed renaming of Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville gets emotional, Brevard school board members decide not to end the ban on indoor singing, and ransomware hackers break into the University of Miami computer system and release personal information about a few dozen medical patients. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Hillsborough: District officials are moving ahead with a plan to cut 1,000 jobs to save almost $80 million during the 2021-2022 school year, they said Thursday at a school board workshop meeting. It could have been worse, they told board members. They had planned to cut 1,600 jobs, but found savings in other areas. Board members and the teachers union pressed Superintendent Addison Davis to provide details of administrative spending cuts. He said $1 million has already been cut and $5 million more is planned, but those details haven’t been finalized because he’s facing an April 9 deadline to tell school employees if they’ll have a job next year. Board members said they hope to use the hundreds of millions in federal coronavirus aid to help close the deficit, but deputy superintendent Michael Kemp cautioned that the state is urging districts to use that money for non-recurring expenses, not to fill budget gaps. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF. WTVT.
Palm Beach: School district officials are asking for community input to help build its strategic plan for the next three to five years. An online survey has been posted, and residents have until April 9 to respond. WPTV.
Duval: Emotional arguments were made for and against the proposed renaming of Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville at the final community meeting on Thursday night. The district is considering renaming nine schools that honor Confederate figures or other historical leaders who allegedly perpetrated violence against native Americans. On April 5, a school renaming committee will present a list of options to be voted on by students, staff, the PTA, school advisory council, members of the community who live in the Lee High zone, and alumni. Robert E. Lee High will be among the options. WJXT. WJAX. Florida Times-Union. Deyona Burton, the senior class president at Lee High, said the controversy over the proposal to rename the school has created tension in the hallways and that students feel “muted.” WJXT. Amy Donofrio, the Lee High language arts teacher who said she was suspended for refusing to remove a Black Lives Matter flag from her classroom, has been reassigned by district officials to a paid, non-teaching position in the warehouse operations center while they investigate “allegations of potential misconduct.” Florida Times-Union. WJXT. WJAX.
Brevard: Citing advice from health officials, school board members have declined to overturn the district ban on singing in classes and during indoors extracurricular activities. Students and parents from Satellite High School’s fine arts program asked the board in February to overturn the policy, which was initiated after the CDC suggested that droplets expelled during singing could spread the coronavirus. Florida Today.
Collier: An 11-year-old is still hospitalized after being hit by a car as she was riding her bike to school with friends on Monday. The driver then left the scene, but returned later after Alessandra Benavidez had been taken to the hospital. The driver was cited, and deputies are investigating. WINK. WFTX.
Escambia: Cecil T. Hunter, who taught in the school district for more than 30 years and played a part in the lawsuit that led to the integration of county schools, has died at the age of 96. He also was treasurer of the county NAACP chapter and a member of the Pensacola City Council for 12 years. Pensacola News Journal.
DeSoto: A counselor at DeSoto County High School in Arcadia has been arrested and accused of sexual battery on a minor by a custodian. Police said Bruce Jose Blanden Jr., 40, had sex with an underage student multiple times. Blanden works for First Step of Sarasota, a nonprofit organization that offers mental health and substance abuse programs for children and adults, and was assigned to DeSoto County High School, according to district officials. Charlotte Sun.
Washington: Students at Vernon and Chipley high schools are mourning the deaths of three students in a traffic accident in Alabama this week. Killed were Vernon High’s Kearri Brown, 17, and Chipley High’s Catrina Adams, 18, and Kylee Duplessis, 15. WJHG. WMBB. WSFA.
Colleges and universities: Hackers recently tapped into the University of Miami computer system and released personal information about a few dozen medical patients. Cybersecurity experts said the posting is a ransom threat to pay up, or more data will be released. Miami Herald. WPLG. WSVN. Six students from Florida State University Panama City have won the 2021 InNOLEvation challenge with their wireless guitar pedal. Patents are pending and production could begin next month. Panama City News Herald.
Opinions on schools: Public education funds should ensure that all students, regardless of race, income, gender and religion, have access to an accredited curriculum, certified teachers and supplemental essential services. Patricia Drago, Daytona Beach News-Journal. I believe bantering about whether the Indian River County School District is trying to satisfy the federal court mandate with equality or equity is a distraction. What we should all be about is getting our kids educated whatever their race, gender, social or economic status. Some of our students just need more help than others, and it’s our collective responsibility to provide it. School board chair Brian M. Barefoot, TCPalm. Now is the time not only to invest in helping students recover from the pandemic, but to build an anti-fragile education system that is less brittle, less monolithic, more family-centric and more capable of meeting students’ individual needs— now and in the future. Steven Hodas and Travis Pillow, redefinED.
