Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–August 19

Aug 19, 2008

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Florida Supreme Court to review tax swap plan

The fate of the Amendment 5 tax swap is in the hands of the Florida Supreme Court.

Florida Supreme Court docket information is available regarding the following Constitutional amendment proposals:

This is an appeal from a trial court order authorizing constitutional Amendments 7 & 9, proposed by the Florida Taxation & Budget Reform Commission, to be placed on the November ballot.

The Attorney General has filed a citizens’ initiative regarding a 1.35% tax cap.

Florida Chamber asks for special session on tax reform

The Florida Chamber of Commerce didn’t waste any time weighing in on the scuttling of Amendment 5. Within hours of a Leon County judge ruling Thursday the amendment’s wording was misleading and pulling it from the November ballot, the state chamber sent an open letter to Gov. Charlie Crist.

Education-related Revenue Estimating Conferences Scheduled for August 26

The Office of Economic and Demographic Research has scheduled a Revenue Estimating Conference for Tuesday, August 26, 2008 starting at 10:00 a.m. in Room 117 of the Knott Building, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida.

Amendment 5 off the ballot, but…

With colored blocks and a stuffed toy ostrich, an influential legislative money manager wound up his 10-city campaign against the tax-swap constitutional amendment Monday.

Although a circuit judge threw Amendment 5 off the ballot last week, state Sen. Mike Haridopolos said his ‘Protect Florida’s Future’ campaign will not stop.

COLUMN: Tax swap gaps make paranoia rational

So many raving paranoid conspiracy theories flow into my e-mail basket, some days it’s like I’ve got a direct Internet connection with an asylum.

State looking at $1 billion hole in budget

The day before economists are expected to announce a $1 billion-plus hole in the state budget, Gov. Charlie Crist assembled his state agency heads Thursday afternoon and ordered them to do everything they can to accelerate road and school construction projects.

Unusual alliance fighting to stop budget massacre

With top economists expected to announce grim budget news for Florida — possibly the worst for the state’s government in decades — an unlikely alliance of groups representing children, the elderly and taxpayers is demanding a solution.

Proposed $15.9-billion budget goes to Board of Education

The state Board of Education will consider approving a proposed $15.9-billion operating budget for schools and community colleges next year when it meets in Tallahassee next week. That’s up 7.9 percent from the $14.7-billion it got this year.

Private-school voucher debate heats up

November ballot will hold two referendum questions on issue

Pat Lockett-Felder isn’t on the ballot outside Duval County. But during three days in June, backers in New York, Michigan and Virginia sent $5,500 to her campaign for a Florida House seat.

Broward School Board has sole control on new charters

With final approval from the state board of education Tuesday, the Broward School Board will have the exclusive authority to allow new charter schools to open within its borders.

Breakthrough Miami, program for low-income students, opens in Miami Shores

Breakthrough Miami, a program in which students teach students, has concluded another inspiring summer and opened a new site at Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores.

For 11-year-old Woody Jean-Louis, Breakthrough Miami was a dream come true.

School Board may reverse course, offer raises to teachers

The Palm Beach County School Board soon may extend an offer on raises for teachers, a month after the district said it didn’t have money in its budget for salary increases.

Green school to set standard for all new Palm Beach County schools

With a focus on the environment and energy-saving devices, Pine Jog Elementary’s a model for future eco-friendly projects.

The new Pine Jog Elementary, in all its wild, green glory, promises a special first day of school Monday.

Now teachers in Central Florida have to ‘claw at pennies’

School-district budgets have been stretched so tightly this year that a bitter joke has been resurrected: If you want to make copper wire, give a penny to two teachers.

Will Teachers Rap The 3 R’s?

When Hillsborough County middle and high school students return to classes Monday, many of their teachers will be struggling along with them.

As school starts, jobs hinge on the enrollment numbers

For years, the first days of school always brought more students than expected into Southwest Florida classrooms, often resulting in a scramble to find enough teachers, classrooms and even desks to accommodate the crush.

Could bumpy economy lead to slumping education?

Harder times and higher fuel prices are following kids back to school this fall.

Back to school: Education by the numbers

Statistics on U.S. schools. Numbers with an ‘(x)’ are projections.

Teachers turn to parents for supplies

Some use own money to meet needs of students for school year

The annual back-to-school supplies list is growing.

Law brings new FCAT era: Less emphasis on preparation

The dreaded FCAT worksheet is dead. Or at least diminished.

Who will save public schools?

You! says Sandra Tsing Loh, whose hilarious “Mother on Fire” is a rallying cry for urban parents who can’t afford a fancy private institution.

Once upon a time, Sandra Tsing Loh was a poster child for the First Amendment — “the Jennifer Aniston of amendments,” she says — popular, glamorous, easy to love. This was back in 2004, shortly after Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s costume and revealed her bejeweled right breast to the Super Bowl-halftime-show-watching masses. Freedom of speech was very much on everyone’s mind — and when Loh got fired for inadvertently uttering the F-word on her Los Angeles public radio show, she found herself a cause celebre.

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