FEDERAL ALERT: ESSER and GEER Funds Guidance

FEDERAL ALERT: ESSER and GEER Funds Guidance May 26, 2021  Good Afternoon Board Members, Below and online, please find Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, including the American Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER program, and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund may be used…

Money for technology, cleaning, summer learning: What the coronavirus stimulus bill means for schools via CHALKBEAT

Money for technology, cleaning, summer learning: What the coronavirus stimulus bill means for schools By Sarah Darville, Matt Barnum   23 hours ago  –  Updated 21 hours ago WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 24: With reporters practicing ‘social distancing,’ White House Director of Legislative Affairs Eric Ueland answers questions about the continuing negotiations on a $2 trillion economic…

*PRESS RELEASE* Historic Voter Turnout in Florida Demonstrates Strong Support for Public Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, November 9, 2018 CONTACT BillieAnne Gay, gay@fsba.org, 850.528.9104 Historic Voter Turnout in Florida Demonstrates Strong Support for Public Schools Tallahassee, FL – Florida experienced historic voter turnout with over 7 million Floridians casting their vote in the 2018 General Election on November 6. The 2018 election cycle has illustrated the public’s…

School Districts Developing Plans To Expand Mental Health Care For Students

Donna Berghauser’s office at McLane Middle School is filled with inspirational pictures, quotes and fun posters designed to get students to open up.  But the one kids relate to most is a poster that asks “How are you feeling today?” with pictures of faces displaying different emotions. There’s happy, sad, angry and right in the…

State Supreme Court accepts 2009 school funding case

Nearly a decade after some Florida parents first argued the state Legislature does not adequately fund public education as the constitution requires, the Florida Supreme Court has agreed to take up the question.  In a 4-1 ruling issued late Monday, the court accepted jurisdiction of the Citizens for Strong Schools case. It gave the plaintiffs until May…

The Legislature raised funding by 47 cents per student. Here’s how Florida schools are coping

Forty-seven cents.   That amount — less than the cost of a postage stamp — is how much Florida lawmakers increased general education funding per student for the coming year. School district officials instantly declared the budget a crisis, and pleaded with lawmakers (unsuccessfully) for a special session to reshuffle the dollars.  Otherwise, they insisted, public…

Sarasota school tax referendum passes

Sarasota County voters on Tuesday resoundingly approved a four-year extension of an optional local property tax for the school district, passing the measure by the most lopsided margin ever.  With all precincts reporting, nearly 79 percent of the 62,896 votes tabulated were in favor of continuing the tax, according to unofficial results posted by the…

Manatee voters approve tax increase for schools

Voters in Manatee County narrowly approved a property tax increase that will generate an estimated $33 million annually in new revenue for the school district and give teachers an average pay supplement of close to $6,000, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.  With all 70 districts reporting, the referendum question on the tax received just…

Secretary DeVos Releases Restart Funding Application for Disaster Impacted Students, Schools

Today, Secretary DeVos released the application for state educational agencies (SEAs) to apply for initial funding under the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations (Restart) program. The release follows DeVos’ recent announcement of $2.7 billion in federal assistance to help K-12 school districts and schools as well as institutions of higher education in their recovery…