Facing tighter budget restrictions this year, the state Legislature reduced the back-to-school tax free holiday to three days and ruled that the credit this year will not apply to computers or clothing items costing more than $60. Read full article
Despite a topsy-turvy year in the world financial markets, Florida’s $142 billion pension fund managed to show a gain for the seventh straight year. Ash Williams, executive director of the State Board of Administration, which manages the fund, told Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet on Tuesday that the fund ended the state fiscal year…
Reversing a five-year trend, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday unanimously agreed to borrow $285 million over the next few years to build and maintain facilities for state universities, colleges, and public schools. Read full article
With No Child Left Behind in the rear view mirror and waivers a thing of the past, states are embarking on a new era of school accountability under the new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act. And as they get to work using their newfound flexibility to create a more personalized system of checks…
Large or small, every school board should hold an orientation for new board members because it benefits the organization, including the scope of people it serves. All boards have a unique set of dynamics and expectations. An effective new board member orientation will be carried out by key individuals using a specific structure. Regardless…
Roughly a month ago, we reported on how the Every Student Succeeds Act puts a new emphasis on students in foster care by requiring that states report disaggregated data about their academic performance. But after the release of the draft ESSA accountability rules last month, a dispute is emerging over another issue related to foster…
Although the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have enjoyed wild success as college dropouts, post-secondary education remains the traditional route to professional and financial success for many Americans. Consider the median incomes for workers aged 25 and older in 2015. Those with a bachelor’s degree earned 68 percent more than those with only…
The Apopka High School Boys Bowling has a new title, “National Champions.” The Apopka team was in 3rd place after the morning qualifying round and advanced with 11 other teams to Round 2. Read full article
In his secretive and impossible bid for public office, James Bailey will accomplish only this: He will deprive thousands of residents from voting for their state legislator. Read full article
Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the Florida Department of Health (DOH) has concluded that four cases of the Zika virus are likely mosquito-borne. DOH knows that the four cases are in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. One of these cases involves a woman and the other three cases involve men. Read full article