Education-related bill are stacking up in Tallahassee, four months before lawmakers return for the 2012 session. Yesterday we wrote about Sen. Joe Negron’s bill that would allow voters to once again choose the state education commissioner. Here are other topics that will be on the calendar come January. School Funding At the top of the […]
Education or health care? That’s a choice Florida budget writers face, according to state Rep. Jeff Brandes, a Pinellas County Republican. Brandes told WUSF’s Florida Matters that growth in Medicaid, the state-run health care program for the poor and disabled, was limiting the state’s ability to spend more on education. Medicaid has grown to 30.7 […]
Technology could provide low-cost solutions for school districts struggling with tight budgets. That’s what Pinellas County state Rep. Jeff Brandes, a Republican, said at a taping of WUSF’s Florida Matters this week. The show is looking at school issues as students head back to class. Brandes believes schools can use technology to stretch their budgets. […]
When does heading back to class not involve a school? When students tick off Florida’s new graduation requirement for an online course. Miami Herald reporter Laura Isensee examined the advantages and criticisms of online schooling Sunday. More than 150,000 Florida students will take virtual courses this year. Students told Isensee they liked the ability to […]
Florida students unable to document citizenship for themselves or their parents may lose their Bright Futures college scholarships because of a new paperwork requirement. Due to a change in the law, students who qualify for the lottery-funded merit scholarship must now fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Most students complete […]
Florida education leaders are meeting in Tampa today to discuss school funding, but do not expect the panel to endorse more money for schools. Roberto Martinez, the state Board of Education member who pushed for the budget discussion, said his goal is to brainstorm ideas that would help schools do more with the resources they […]
The pending federal debt deal would protect a college grant program for low-income students, according to an email from the National College Access Network. The future of of the federal Pell Grant program has been in doubt as Congress and President Barack Obama negotiated a deal on raising the debt limit. Last week Republicans criticized […]
Why are Broward County schools cutting 2,400 jobs — mostly teachers — and requiring unpaid leave when other district proposed budgets avoid layoffs? The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has posted a Q&A about Broward’s budget problems. One answer: Broward could not sit on federal stimulus money like Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties. “Both those counties set […]
A $17 billion increase to a college aid program for low-income students is one reason U.S. House Republicans are balking at plan to raise the federal debt limit, according to The Hill newspaper. Republicans are asking House GOP leadership why they are growing the Pell Grant program in a bill designed to cut the federal […]
Pinellas County teachers are worried about next year’s vote to renew a $30 million tax increase for salaries, arts, music and technology. “I’m very concerned,” union president Kim Black told the St. Petersburg Times editorial board. Black noted the anti-tax mood, then added: “When all of this turmoil is happening — whether it’s the budget, […]
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