Financial issues: The Duval County School District again spent more than it took in last year, according to an annual report on the state of its finances. That spending - for unexpected expenses, climbing costs, underutilized schools and more - cut into the district's net financial position by 15.7 percent last year, and the general fund balance is now 21 percent less than it was a year ago. Florida Times-Union. The Leon County School Board is expected to vote tonight on a proposed $545.8 million budget that includes raises for teachers and a boost in the minimum wage paid from $9.50 an hour to $11. Tallahassee Democrat.

School overcrowding: Even with about 22,000 open seats in Palm Beach County schools, there's a space crunch at select schools. Schools in more desirable neighborhoods are jammed, and schools in low-income areas have seats to spare. District officials are trying to convince the state to let them build new schools to relieve the overcrowding at the crowded schools, saying moving students from them to half-empty ones would require so much busing that it would be unhealthy for students, unwelcome to their parents and unaffordable for the school system. Palm Beach Post. Here's what one Palm Beach County school is doing to weed out students who falsify addresses to attend. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)