What’s at Stake for Schools in the Debt Ceiling Debate

Have you missed fights over whether to increase the U.S. government’s borrowing limit? You might be getting a special treat soon. Many education advocates, however, likely aren’t so thrilled.  The recurring squabble over raising the debt ceiling has roots in 2011 when, in exchange for increasing the borrowing limit, Congress imposed mandatory spending caps on…

Florida school districts learn how much state money they’ll get for construction, maintenance

They said it wouldn’t come close to being enough. Florida school district leaders fought during the 2017 legislative session for permission to increase their local tax rate for capital project funding, anticipating they would have to share with charter schools, knowing they had more projects than revenue, understanding the state’s portion had been low for…

Fifty Florida schools apply for ‘Schools of Hope’ grant

Mor than half of the Florida traditional public schools eligible to vie for newly minted “Schools of Hope” grants submitted applications by Tuesday’s deadline, the Florida Department of Education reported.  The program was a late add-on to a House proposal that set aside millions of dollars to support the creation of new charter schools to…

FSBA #FridayFive – August 18, 2017

  Click below to read Executive Director Andrea Messina’s top picks for this week’s education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. 1. What would a Spotify approach to education look like? READ ABOUT IT 2. Trends in schoolhouse commercialization: READ ABOUT IT 3. Do principals give teachers the truth about their performance?   READ ABOUT IT 4. What happens when a…

State: Each school district must review teachers’ eligibility for ‘Best & Brightest’ bonuses

The Florida Department of Education says it will be up to each of the state’s 67 county school districts to determine which of their local teachers is eligible for the state “Best and Brightest” bonus program that lawmakers revamped as part of a massive education law that took effect this summer.  Hershel Lyons, Florida’s chancellor…

Betsy DeVos Says School Vouchers Are Part of Tax Overhaul Discussions

More than a third of U.S. states have created school voucher programs that bypass thorny constitutional and political issues by turning them over to nonprofits that rely primarily on businesses to fund them. But the programs are raising questions about transparency and accountability at a time when supporters are urging that they be expanded into…