UPDATE: We’ve added Senate President Don Gaetz’ response at the end. Florida TaxWatch has released its annual list of “turkeys” found in the proposed state budget. TaxWatch bills itself as an “independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy research institute and government watchdog.” The group targets 107 items for veto, including some education-related projects. Gov. Rick Scott [...]
Lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott reached a compromise on $480 million in raises for teachers and other school workers. The raises are part of a $74 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Districts will have flexibility in how the money is awarded based on local collective bargaining agreements. The Governor’s Office [...]
Florida Department of Education staff told the State Board of Education the agency overestimated the amount of money needed to upgrade school technology next year by $342 million. The agency based its request on a dated school district survey from 2011, and districts have upgraded their bandwidth and available computers since then. In addition, the [...]
Sara LaBarbera is teaching 6th graders at Walker Middle School near Tampa how to research poets using an online library. One student, working on a series of questions about a Lewis Carroll poem, asks LaBarbera for help. He has the pieces, but doesn’t quite know how to put them together. LaBarbera knows how to ask [...]
The Florida House has released its proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Speaker Will Weatherford says education was prioritized over everything else. “The big winner is education,” Weatherford said. “We invested over a billion dollars into our K-12 education system from last year.” He said that amounts to a 6.2 percent increase [...]
A business advocacy group is running television ads that say Florida might have to cut education funding if the state expands Medicaid health coverage. The National Federation of Independent Business has also set up a website — FloridaCanDoBetter.com. “Washington promises to pay the billions in new costs. But with these endless federal deficits can we [...]
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford isn’t shy about pushing his non-traditional agenda for public education. It’s based on his own life experience. He’s in favor of options that are growing in popularity, like virtual classes and charter schools. StateImpact reporter Gina Jordan sat down with Weatherford in his office to talk about his educational roots. [...]
Florida House and Senate leaders have set aside less money for education in their initial budget outlines than did Gov. Rick Scott. Both House and Senate leaders have expressed doubts about Scott’s $480 million plan to give teachers a $2,500 across-the-board raise. Scott’s budget would have spent $14.3 billion on education. House Appropriations education committee [...]
Pasco County media specialists are rallying Tuesday to oppose a proposal that would restructure their job duties and shift many from library and technology support roles to the classroom. Pasco County schools superintendent Kurt Browning says his budget plan would eliminate 100 media specialists, literacy coaches and other support staff, saving $8 million. The media [...]
Five military bases are located within Senate President Don Gaetz’ Northwest Florida district. Thousands of workers earn their pay at those bases, or from affiliated aerospace and defense companies nearby. Because President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders failed to reach a compromise to avoid automatic cuts to military spending, Gaetz said, that leaves those workers [...]
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