Florida School Boards Association
Florida lawmakers this week set into motion a budget process that will result in several highly consequential policy reforms affecting public education to become law this year in one form or another. But if years of precedent are any indication, what exactly those final laws might be will now be determined through deal-making and negotiations…
As Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet approved the sale Tuesday of up to $233 million in education construction bonds, the question remains whether lawmakers will follow through on a second year of borrowing to fund building projects in the public-school, state-college and university systems. Read More
The superintendent of Florida’s largest school district says he has “grave concern” about state lawmakers’ proposed reforms in how charter schools get taxpayer funding for maintenance and construction projects. Read More
A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law. Senators behind the measure (SB 376) envision the final bill would have two…
Once again, Florida lawmakers will try to force school districts to share part of their local tax dollars with charter schools so that those privately managed schools can enjoy the same access to funding for maintenance and construction projects as traditional public schools. Read More
Half of a two-part effort to bridge differences between charter schools and traditional public schools over construction funding was approved Tuesday by a Senate committee — but the other measure was left to an uncertain future. The Senate Education Committee voted 6-2 to advance legislation (SB 376) that would require school districts to share construction…
The State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF) are part of the Florida Building Code. SREF requirements apply to construction, renovation, and remodeling of public educational facilities owned by district school boards and Florida College System boards of trustees. This review focused on K-12 public school construction. We did not identify a compelling reason to eliminate…
Most local school districts kept their classes small enough this fall to meet Florida’s class-size rules, according to recently released data from the Florida Department of Education. Read full article
State budget forecasters determined Tuesday that tax revenue supporting projects to build and repair schools will drop by 5 percent next year and that bonds may be an alternative. Read full article
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