Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–April 3
Apr 3, 2008
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Major budget woes paralyze Florida legislators
Children, their faces painted to look like clowns, raced around the sunny Capitol courtyard while legislators in windowless meeting rooms debated women’s rights and the fate of a sales tax holiday on school supplies.
Schools fear even deeper cuts under state Senate funding plan
Central Florida schools, already bracing to cut hundreds of teaching jobs, were staggered again Wednesday by a Florida Senate school-funding plan that could force even deeper reductions.
Florida House speaker pushes more tax cuts
Marco Rubio wants to cap government spending but faces ‘significant resistance.’
In the face of multibillion-dollar spending cuts contemplated for health care and schools, House Speaker Marco Rubio is pushing a plan that could curtail state and local government spending even more.
State ranks near bottom in school spending
Florida confirmed its reputation as a state that’s cheap when it comes to funding education according to a new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week.
Crist can back tax swap headed for November ballot
Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he can back a proposed tax swap that appears headed for the November ballot, but he wants to see the final version before giving a firm commitment.
EDITORIAL: Florida commission oversteps its duties
The state’s Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is acting as if it were the Jeb Bush Education Agenda Commission.
Higher fees considered to bolster state budget
From the courthouse to the college lecture hall to the drivers’ license office, Floridians could pay higher fees as part of legislative plans to pump up the state’s budget.
Bonuses for nationally certified teachers could be cut
Money for a state program that rewards nationally certified teachers who help their colleagues win certification could be slashed nearly in half next school year.
OPINION: Creative cutting: Florida schools are getting lots of advice
All eyes will be on our public schools to break out of what some budget analysts describe as an inertia-ridden system of governance. The K-12s may suffer the most from the current economic crisis in Florida.
Palm Beach County school district faces $30 million in budget cuts
The Palm Beach County School District will have to ax between $25 million to $30 million next school year under proposals released today by the Florida House and Senate.
Palm Beach County school leaders finishing budget plan after tax shortfall
Palm Beach County schools are finalizing a plan to cope with a mid-year, $14.9 million funding cut from Tallahassee blamed on lower than expected tax revenues.
Teachers may bear brunt of cutbacks
Fewer teachers and longer work days for the ones who remain.
Already wrapped in a controversy about closing schools, Volusia County school leaders are about ready to face more tough financial choices.
EDITORIAL: Volusia made right call in closing small, more expensive schools
It was a gut-wrenching decision that angered parents, but Volusia County School Board members did the right thing in closing seven small, older schools that have become too expensive to operate.
Flagler schools may cut programs to save jobs
Flagler County Public Schools may suspend some student programs and department spending to stem the bleeding from a possible $7 million cut to the district’s budget next year — but no one will lose their job, officials said.
Collier school district agrees to change date of salary hearing so teachers can attend
Teachers will have their day before the Collier County School Board.
Miami-Dade graduation rates among the worst
Miami-Dade public schools are performing poorly, even among low-scoring urban areas, a report says.
Fewer than half of Miami-Dade’s public school students graduate from high school on time, according to a national report released Tuesday.
EDITORIAL: Feds Will Make Florida Face Up To High School Graduation Failures
Finally, someone plans to tell it like it is about the nation’s dismal high-school graduation rates.
Proposed bill would limit FCAT score’s impact on Florida high schools’ grades
The FCAT, used to measure schools’ achievement, could become just one of several factors used to grade state high schools under a bill that’s cleared the Senate and is waiting for House action.
OPINION: The soft underbelly of school vouchers exposed
I’ve voted Republican for a quarter century, but I’m wishing I had some choices other than loony Democrats and hardcore “looking out for number one†Libertarians.
Florida Senate bill would require schools to teach more about sex
Some Florida teens believe drinking Mountain Dew or smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy and that swallowing a capful of bleach will prevent HIV/AIDS.
Budget cuts lock more out of state universities
As budget cuts force state universities to cap enrollment, high school seniors are finding more closed doors and fewer safe choices in Florida.
Top Florida high school students once considered Florida International University a ”safe” fallback for those rejected by more-elite colleges like the University of Florida.
Pay a bit more and get a lot better education
At ”Sandspur U,” nicknamed for its vast stretches of raw, new campus in 1970, the University of South Florida in Tampa offered a bargain price for a B.A. For $600 a year, eager undergraduates like me could gobble up course offerings while juggling part-time jobs and the social unrest prompted by the Vietnam War.
Lt. Governor Kottkamp Kicks Off Florida’s 13th Annual Children’s Week
Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp today officially kicked-off the 13th Annual Children’s Week during a ceremony at Florida’s Capitol in Tallahassee.
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