Florida School Boards Association
Florida’s economy continues to grow, but not at the pace state budget forecasters expected. The slower-than-expected economic growth could affect tax revenue that feeds the state budget, which already promises increased costs next year for Medicaid and education. Budget analysts from the House, Senate and governor’s office gathered Friday for the State Economic Estimating Conference. Read full…
Florida Department of Education officials are looking for ways to funnel more money to the state’s aging schools and their growing backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs. On Thursday, they proposed a new formula for doling out money from the Public Education Capital Outlay fund, known as PECO. Read full article
A week after Florida voters elected them, 66 new state lawmakers — who make up 40 percent of the entire Legislature — will be in Tallahassee on Tuesday for training and orientation. More than a third of the 120-member House and half of the 40-member Senate are new to their legislative seats for 2017. Many have held elected…
Unhappy with the “world of mess” school her son was assigned to attend, Morna Atkins was thrilled when he won a spot in a magnet program at another campus. But the Orlando mother, who sent her son to private school for a time, too, doesn’t think parents unhappy with their local school should have to…
Almost three months into the school year, thousands of public school students in South Florida still don’t have a permanent teacher —a problem expected to get worse as more educators flee the classroom and the number of those seeking teaching degrees plummets. Read full article
Republican President-elect Donald Trump spoke about education only in broad terms on the campaign trail, leaving plenty of uncertainty about how his administration now intends to handle policy questions ranging from standardized testing and school accountability to the treatment of transgender students. But Trump’s stunning election is likely to mean a clear contrast with some key…
Ready to formally take charge of the Florida House this month, incoming Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, on Wednesday named 11 lawmakers to his leadership team. The announcement came after Tuesday’s elections ensured that all of Corcoran’s choices, including the chairmen of nine committees, would return to the House for the next two years.…
When Florida’s 120 newly elected members of the state House of Representatives go to Tallahassee later this month, they will be asked to put down their cell phones. The incoming House speaker wants to an impose a ban on texting while legislating. Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, says the new rule banning lobbyists from texting…
Florida needs to invest more money in schools that offer students longer school days and years. And the state should ease regulations on public schools that perform well. Those are two provocative ideas raised by incoming state House Speaker Richard Corcoran in a recent interview with the head of a South Florida law firm. Corcoran, who is set to lead…
Joe Atkinson is used to speaking in public. As Well Fargo’s South Florida region president, Atkinson oversees a large team of people. But the first time Atkinson got up in front of a group of eighth graders, he didn’t quite know what to expect. Read full article