Blaine Amendment: The Constitution Revision Commission's Declaration of Rights Committee approves a proposal to put repeal of the Blaine Amendment before voters in 2018. The amendment prohibits the use of tax money “directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect or religious denomination." In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court cited the amendment when it ruled that a state violated the law with its scholarship program for students to attend private schools. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, has long called for a repeal of the amendment. The proposal now goes to the full commission, where 22 of the 37 members would have to approve it to put it on the November 2018 ballot. Sixty percent of voters would then have to approve the repeal to put it into effect. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.
Education spending: Gov. Rick Scott continues a state tour to promote his education budget, which he says will boost spending on K-12 education to a record $21.4 billion. “We’re going to have historic funding for the sixth year in a row,” says Scott about his proposal to increase per-student spending from $7,297 to $7,497. But an analysis in Folio Weekly magazine questions that statement. Using the Consumer Price Index calculator, the magazine says it would take $8,377.89 per student today to match the $7,126 per student from then-Gov. Charlie Crist's 2007, pre-recession budget. Florida Politics. WJCT. Florida and 28 other states are spending less on education now than they were before the 2008 recession after an adjustment for inflation, according to a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And Florida and six other states each spent at least 15 percent less per-student in 2015 than in 2008. The 74.
Superintendent honored: Pinellas County School Superintendent Mike Grego is named Florida superintendent of the year for his work to close the achievement gap between black and nonblack students. Grego, 60, has been superintendent in Pinellas for just over five years. He now represents Florida at the national competition in Nashville in February. Gradebook. WUSF.
Schools reopening: Some school districts around Florida have reopened or are reopening today, while others will delay a few more days or even until next Monday. Florida Department of Education. Tampa Bay Times. Gradebook. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Florida Times-Union. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Today. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. Fort Myers News-Press. Pensacola News Journal. Ocala Star-Banner. Tallahassee Democrat. Citrus County Chronicle. Politico Florida. WFSU. WUSF. WFLA. WTSP. WJXT.
More on Irma: Here are some of the reasons why many schools are closed until next week. Gradebook. With school for many students closed until next week, parents are looking for safe activities to keep them busy. Sun-Sentinel. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have taken their toll on schoolchildren. Washington Post. In some schools, the cleanup will be a massive and costly efforts. Fort Myers News-Press. Bradenton Herald. A nun toting a chainsaw helps clear debris at her schools, Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School in West Kendall. "We teach our students: Do what you can to help other people, don't think of yourselves," Sister Margaret Ann said. "That's what I wanted to do." CNN. Students from the Manatee School for the Arts pitch in to help clean up storm debris at a neighborhood playground. Bradenton Herald.
School burns down: Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Tampa, which was built in 1906 and has been a magnet school for world studies and technology, is destroyed by a fire. Officials say the fire did not appear to be suspicious, but the investigation of the cause has not started. "I want to make something very, very clear — because I know that in our atmosphere this can be contentious — but indications now have nothing to do with the name of this school," says Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny. Some school board members have been trying to have the name of the school changed. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA.
