Term limits for school board members — one of the most popular proposals before the Florida Constitution Revision Commission — took a step closer to the November ballot on Wednesday. The measure, which would hold board members to two consecutive terms if approved, won strong support from the commission. It voted 27-6 to advance the…
Just days after Gov. Rick Scott signed Florida’s new school safety rules into law, one of the state’s largest charter schools made a big ask of the 13 districts where it operates. “In keeping with the spirit of the Act, we request that a full time School Resource Officer be provided to each of the…
A proposal to ask voters to end Florida’s practice of allowing school districts to elect their superintendents will not go to the state Constitution Revision Commission today, as had been anticipated. Its sponsor, Collier County School Board member Erika Donalds, quietly withdrew the item from further consideration late Tuesday. It already had won support from…
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…
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…
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…
After spending months discussing more than a hundred possible changes to the Florida Constitution, a state commission on Monday will head into its homestretch and begin the task of narrowing the list of proposed amendments to be placed on the November for voters to decide on. The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), appointed once every…
The 2018 Legislative Session adjourned, sine die, on Sunday evening with the passage of the $88.7 billion state budget, budget implementing bill, and a tax relief bill. On the same day, Governor Scott signed Senate President Joe Negron’s priority legislation relating to post-secondary education ( SB 4) and House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s priority legislation relating to…
Florida lawmakers finished the 2018 legislative session Sunday with the approval of a record $88.7 billion state budget that included $170 million in tax cuts. The spending plan includes $400 million in school security measures and immediately earned an F grade from educators for shortchanging the operations budget for public schools. Read More
The legislature has extended the 2018 Session through Sunday, March 11 in order to allow for the 72-hour cooling off period before a final vote can be taken on the budget. The chambers also agreed that they will consider ONLY the Conference Reports budget bills and a tax relief bill – HB 7087 — after…