Roll Call: Budget Balancing Act; Manatee Schools Cut $6 Million; Broward School Board Wants Merit Pay Funded

A tight budget will make Gov. Rick Scott’s education funding pledge difficult, in Tuesday’s education headlines.

Rick Scott School Funding Effort Could Require Juggling – Gov. Rick Scott will find it difficult to keep his promise to maintain education funding when state revenue projections expect revenues will basically cover current state expenses. The News Service of Florida

$6 million in cuts for Manatee schools – Manatee County schools will cut specialists who work with special education students, one way the district is cutting $6 million due to accounting errors. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune

School officials will lobby for a moratorium on the state’s merit pay law until 2016 – Broward County’s school board wants lawmakers to say how the state will fund its merit pay requirement. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Students learn about engineering in fun project at Stephen Foster Elementary – An Alachua County magnet school has added the ‘E’ to its STEM magnet school — engineering — to better prepare students for the future job market. The Gainesville Sun