Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–February 25
Feb 25, 2010
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
School districts fret over class-size mandates, budgets
A handful of school superintendents met Wednesday with local legislators and shared their concerns about their individual school districts.
Audit: Homestead CRA squandered millions in property taxes
A Homestead redevelopment agency squandered millions of taxpayer dollars over the past five years with little or nothing to show for it, a new county audit has found.
State slams Keys School District for lack of oversight
Audit report shows pattern of deficiencies
On the heels of a lousy financial audit, two Monroe County School Board members are calling for the ouster of district administrative staff.
Florida legislature to consider class size, replacing FCAT
Measures to ease class-size amendment requirements, replace the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test with end of course examinations and require teachers in the state’s pre-kindergarten program to hold a bachelor’s degree are all up for consideration as the Legislature goes into session next week.
Editorial: Proposal to ease Florida’s class-size requirements makes lots of sense
School districts across Florida face perilous times.
Six dilemmas Pinellas County faces in trying to balance its budget
The County Commission wants to trim $60 million from the 2011 budget to make up for falling property tax revenue.
School budget worries Lee County board
State funding loss may follow this year’s drop
They won’t approve the final budget until September, but members of the Lee County School Board are thinking about what a loss of funding could mean to the district.
$10 million in cuts to Indian River schools could include jobs, resource officers
School resource officers, field trips, electives and jobs may be cut this summer as the Indian River County School District prepares to lose millions in state money.
Duval students sounding alarm to save schools
A new effort is under way, using voices of those most hurt by cuts.
Their school day has been cut by 45 minutes.
Alachua elementary schools might merge to save money
In an effort to maximize space and save money, the Alachua County School Board is considering a plan to consolidate Metcalfe and Rawlings elementary schools, both in close proximity in east Gainesville.
Hernando County school start times studied
The Hernando County School Board is about to drive head-on into the typically controversial issues of cutting bus service and adjusting school starting and ending times.
Ormond Beach Pre-K program blossoms; will funding keep up?
Ethan Crossland’s face lit up with a big grin as soon as he spotted his mom, Kim, after a busy morning of playing and learning in his prekindergarten class at Little Feet Academy in Ormond Beach.
Hernando County middle school students may have to pay to play sports
Hernando County parents might soon have to pay for their children to play middle school sports.
Scheme costs Pinellas schools hundreds of thousands of dollars
Two former Pinellas County Schools workers are accused of organizing a bid-rigging scheme for mulching contracts worth at least $860,000 that returned more than $200,000 to one of them.
Florida ranks third in underwater mortgages
Florida has the third-highest percentage of homes under water, according to a report by Santa Ana, Calif.-based First American CoreLogic, a real estate information company.
Trying to boost the quality of health care for children, federal officials will send $100 million in grants to states over five years — including about $11.3 million to a partnership between Florida and Illinois.
Editorial: Student loans need competition:
Everybody bashes the banks these days; to some extent they deserve it.
Recession Tightens Grip on State Tax Revenues
The recession can now claim another troublesome record: state tax collections shrank at the end of 2009 for a fifth consecutive quarter, the longest period of continuing state revenue declines since at least the Great Depression, according to a new report.
State officials: More than 1,000 gangs in Florida
More than 1,000 gangs with nearly 49,000 members and associates are roaming through virtually every corner of the state.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to sgray@cftlaw.com.