Florida School Boards Association
At the urging of some Florida lawmakers who said school districts were spending too much to build campuses, the state has tightened rules on construction costs. Central Florida district leaders say they fear the new rules, part of a massive education bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott earlier this month, will hamper their ability to…
TALLAHASSEE — After cutting state borrowing by about $2.5 billion since he took office, Gov. Rick Scott has reversed course and backed a legislative plan to finance more than $600 million in education construction projects in the new budget. It will mark the first time since 2011 that the state has issued bonds to pay…
TALLAHASSEE — School districts would have new flexibility from state building laws under a massive education bill passed by the Legislature during the final hours of the 2016 session. HB 7029, which Gov. Rick Scott is considering, includes a variety of changes to laws governing school facilities construction, including provisions that would free districts from…
Florida’s 650 charter schools and 3,600 traditional public schools would each get a pot of $75 million in state funds next year to spend on construction and maintenance projects, under a budget agreement the House and Senate appropriations chairmen announced Sunday afternoon. The figure — about the same as what Republican Gov. Rick Scott had asked for — is $25 million more…
The Florida House has approved several education bills changing everything from the way students can transfer to how how quickly they can advance in school. But some of those proposals face opposition in the Senate when they get there. Democratic Representative Steve Geller sums up his party’s sentiment about the education bills. “It’s a pattern…
TALLAHASSEE – A familiar face is back at the center of a perennial tug-of-war in the Florida Legislature between privately-managed charter schools and district-run public schools over taxpayer money for construction projects: Erik Fresen, the Miami Republican who controls the purse for education funding in the Florida House. His connections to the charter school industry…
TALLAHASSEE – With resounding opposition from Democrats and school officials, Republican lawmakers in the Florida House are fast-tracking a proposal to significantly change how public school districts use taxpayer money to fund construction projects, while making it easier for charter schools to get capital dollars. Education budget committee Chairman Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, is spearheading…
On Monday, the Florida superintendents association issued a statement accusing the House Education Appropriations subcommittee of using inaccurate information to paint school districts as poor stewards of taxpayer dollars when it comes to school construction costs. It’s one thing to say it. It’s another to back up the statement. And on Tuesday, districts began releasing…
Florida superintendents are going on defense to protect their locally generated tax revenue that’s dedicated to school maintenance, construction and other capital projects. The district leaders, who have met the past three days in Tallahassee, are growing increasingly concerned that state lawmakers will target the tax as a source of regular revenue for charter schools.…
Setting the tone for an adversarial debate this session, Florida House Republican leaders want to rein in what they call a “disturbing pattern” of school districts “glaringly and grossly” exceeding a state-imposed limit for spending on school construction projects. Citing annual data that districts report to the state, House education budget Chairman Rep. Erik Fresen,…