Funding fears: While school officials applaud voters for approving 18 ballot measures in August and November to help pay for expenses at schools, some fear that those approvals will embolden the Legislature to cut back funding and lean more on local tax efforts. That could lead to funding disparities based on where students live. "It's a grave concern," says Andrea Messina, head of the Florida School Boards Association. "The more we rely on local dollars to provide for educational needs, the greater the disparity could be." Gradebook.
School board elections: When the Florida Constitution Revision Commission proposed an amendment that would have imposed term limits on school board members, critics said it was unnecessary because of natural turnover. The Florida Supreme Court removed the amendment from the budget to make the argument moot. So how did the elections turn out? Across the state, 290 school board seats were open. Fifty-nine incumbents chose not to seek re-election. Eighteen incumbents who did run lost in the August primary, and seven more lost in the general election. Meanwhile, 73 incumbents and 53 newcomers were elected to boards without drawing opponents. Gradebook. (more…)
