Education spending: The chairman of the Florida House Appropriations Committee is anticipating cuts in education spending this year and next. Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, says with revenues expected to be flat, his committee is looking into two levels of spending based on expected revenues. The "easy" one would trim $164.8 million from recurring PreK-12 spending and $68 million in nonrecurring expenses. The aggressive one would more than double those cuts. Gradebook. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida.
Scott on education: Gov. Rick Scott made a pitch Tuesday for affordable college degrees and a quicker path to graduation. Part of the plan includes broadening the allowable use of Bright Futures scholarships, and capping college fees. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. Sunshine State News.
Teacher pay: Several Duval County School Board members say paying teachers and principals extra to work in struggling schools is producing mixed results, and they question Superintendent Nikolai Vitti's plan to expand the program. Twenty-one of the schools in the program have shown improvement in school grades, while 11 have stayed at the same level and three have declined. Vitti's plan lowers the incentive pay in order to expand the program. Florida Times-Union. Some Lee County teachers will get a pay raise at the end of the month after the school board approves a plan to spend $9.73 million for performance pay and as a market adjustment for veteran teachers. Fort Myers News-Press.
Substitute banned: A New York writing professor working as a substitute teacher at Venice High School has been banned because she assigned her senior Advanced Placement students to read a short story with sexual situations, explicit language and discussions of race and relationships. Lisa del Rosso had students read Alma, a short story written by Pulitzer-prize winning writer Junot Diaz that appeared in The New Yorker. A parent called the school office to complain, and del Rosso was banned from the district. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (more…)
