New legislature ponders veto overrides   

Agricultural property tax exemption bill among those to be taken up

11/03/10  …ure. One, sponsored by Polk County citrus grower Sen. J.D. Alexander, would have allowed people who purchase farmland to retain existing agricultural property tax exemptions. The other was a $9.7 million budget appropriation for Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida. The money was to…

 

Amendment 8 aftermath: Florida school districts ready to sue if hit with class size fines

Smaller class sizes are here to stay, and the stage is being set for a court battle over who will pay for them.

• Teachers cheer defeat of class-size change
• Class-size issue shy of required 60 percent
• Tallahassee principal and former face of Amendment 8 speaks out

Miami-Dade County seeks Florida Legislature’s OK to freeze some senior’s tax bills 11/04/10  …ir homes, the county commission is urging the legislature to consider a constitutional amendment that would allow Miami-Dade to freeze those persons’ property tax bills. Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who was a chief proponent of the legislation as it worked through the commission, is setting up meet…

 

Fla. military tax break amendment passes 11/03/10  MIAMI – Florida voters easily approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday that will give a new property tax break to thousands of military members based in the state. Amendment 2 will give troops serving in certain overseas conflict areas designated by the state Legislature …

 

Pasco voters reject extension of property tax for school operations 11/03/10  LAND O’LAKES Pasco County voters soundly rejected the School Board’s request to extend a local property tax for school operations.The tax of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value was projected to generate $5.5 million this year, enough to pay for 105 teaching positions. The board had asked…

Port St. Lucie voters OK giving tax breaks to some businesses 11/03/10  PORT ST. LUCIE Voters on Tuesday authorized the City Council to give property tax breaks to new businesses and expanding businesses.The referendum passed by more than 55 percent of the vote. The last time Port St. Lucie voters approved an economic development tax exemption was on Aug. 12, 1996. How..

Business tax exemptions pass in Indian River County, Fellsmere, Vero Beach 11/03/10  …s passed the initiatives without much opposition. The tax abatement referendum in Indian River County, which authorizes county commissioners to grant property tax exemptions to eligible new businesses and existing businesses that expand and create jobs, overwhelmingly passed. There was no organized …

Martin School Board incumbent Barry-Sorenson wins, tax levy defeated 11/03/10  …race by slightly more than 50 percent of the votes.Also Tuesday, voters soundly defeated a referendum that would have empowered the board to increase property tax rate by 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable value for four years starting in the 2011-12 school year.School Board members decided to put the “…

Milton approves business tax break 11/03/10  New and expanding businesses will be eligible for property tax breaks, courtesy of a referendum approved by city voters on Tuesday.Voters approved the measure, which authorizes the City Council to grant property tax exemptions to new and expanding businesses.Mayor Guy Thompson said the vote shows th…

Seminole may halt building after school tax-hike failure 11/04/10  …ace, but the tax money will help us,” said Candace Lankford, a Volusia County School Board member.Volusia asked voters for a quarter-mill increase in property taxes for two years and sold it by saying the $14 million to be raised would pay for 150 teachers. Voters responded with 61 percent in favor….

School tax hikes win in Orange, Volusia, but lose in Seminole 11/03/10  …tain its facilities,” said Bill Vogel, superintendent of Seminole County schools.In Orange, 55 percent of voters favored a special 1-mill increase in property taxes to support general operation of the schools. The tax is expected to raise about $85 million a year for four years toward teacher salari…

North Port voters to rule on borrowing 11/02/10  …ed, even supporters say the measures are a hard sell.Voters are being asked to approve borrowing for the two projects, with the bonds to be repaid by property taxes.If both measures pass, North Port property owners could see a property tax rate increase of more than 2 mills, a 63 percent increase ov…

FLORIDA URBAN AREAS

Toxic schools: Florida’s aging, leaky schools outstrip dwindling pot of money to fix them

Florida schools resort to triage in fixing aging, leaky buildings

Bill Smith sends this warning to Florida’s teachers, students and parents: If you think indoor-air quality in public schools is bad now, just wait a few years.

 

Monroe schools’ gasoline costs to be probed

The Monroe County School Board on Tuesday heard briefings from internal auditor Ken Gentile and Superintendent Joseph Burke on “big-ticket” spending items that have raised questions, including a report of discrepancies in districtwide gasoline consumption.

Committee crafts new school zones for central Pasco

 With little hue and cry, a committee of Pasco County parents and school district officials on Monday redrew attendance zones in order to ease crowding at Wiregrass Ranch High and John Long Middle schools.

 Is Advanced Placement worth the cost?

We’re not sure how many folks saw the explanatory sidebar that went with Sunday’s St. Petersburg Times story about AP costs, so we’re posting it here.   

No raises in works for school employees

The state’s public education system is requesting more than a $650-million increase for next year to pay for higher enrollment, plus special reading and technology initiatives.
But there would be no cost-of-living adjustments for public school employees, under the State Board of Education-approved budget request.

Nationally, voters limit state tax hikes, budget battles   11/03/10  …d legislatures’ abilities to raise taxes and fees. Massachusetts voters repealed the state sales tax on alcohol, while Indiana cemented its statutory property tax cap in the state constitution. A trio of proposed constitutional amendments in Colorado that would have radically limited how the state c…

Fla. universities panel considers tuition issues
Lakeland Ledger – 11/04/10

• Florida university tuition third-lowest in country

Keiser, two other schools, added to Attorney General probe

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has expanded his probe into for-profit colleges in the state. The three additional schools are Keiser University, based in Fort Lauderdale; Concorde Career Colleges, based in Kansas; and Sanford Brown College, based in Illiinois. The three schools are being investigated based on alleged misrepresentations regarding financial said and unfair or deceptive practices involving recruitment, enrollment and job placement.

 

Students sue for-profit college in West Palm Beach

When Diana Medina enrolled in the Medical Office Administration night program at MedVance Institute’s West Palm Beach campus last year, she was lured by the promise that she would get a job as a medical office manager after she graduated.

Schools struggle with how to meet mandate to rein in bullying
Orlando Sentinel – 11/04/10

Wall Street Journal:  Fiscal Reality to Hit Quickly for New Governors

Broward School Board election results

Latest update: 10:45 p.m. No further updates Tuesday evening.
It’s all but official: David “Dave” Thomas and Nora Rupert will take the open seats on the Broward County School Board, while Laurie Rich Levinson has defeated Phyllis Hope. That puts four new faces on the Broward County School Board, once you include Patti Good, who defeated Kevin Tynan in the August primary.