Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–April 1
Apr 1, 2010
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House approves budget on party-line vote
On a party-line, election-year vote, House Republicans on Thursday pushed through their blueprint for spending $67.2 billion next year, most of it for education, health care, transportation and public safety.
Senate approves budget, but House version differs
The Florida Senate approved a $69-billion-plus budget Wednesday, ending a fight over privatizing a Panhandle prison, but starting a new clash by looking to break free from federal Medicaid requirements.
Florida legislators propose raiding state trust funds to balance budget
Facing a budget shortfall, Florida’s legislators are proposing raiding a controversial source of cash: trust funds, the accounts used to pay for everything from road building to health care to patching leaky gas pipelines.
Editorial: Tracking Florida tax breaks
Cost-benefit system needs safeguards against skewed numbers, revenue loss
Do tax breaks help Florida’s economy, or are they just a giveaway?
Florida League of Cities: Florida’s unfunded mandates
Unfunded mandates affect all Floridians, which is why we believe it’s important that they be stopped. A mandate is a program or service that the state or federal government requires local governments to provide, but does not fund. The local community has to spend local tax dollars to pay for the program or service.
House Republicans push through anti-tenure bill
House lawmakers have been warned: Republican leaders do not want to see any amendments to the widely opposed “teacher tenure” bill because they want to push it through to the governor’s desk, Speaker Larry Cretul said Wednesday.
Florida classroom aides face a new test
Hundreds stand to be affected by revised education standards
About 2,000 teacher’s aides across Florida — including about 250 locally — could lose their jobs if they cannot become “highly qualified” by passing a competency test or completing two years of college.
Our Opinion: Investing in tots
Prekindergarten, child care: two essentials
In 2002, Florida voters said they wanted free, high-quality prekindergarten classes to be available to all 4-year-olds in the state, voluntarily, of course, and a constitutional amendment won 59-percent approval, casting in stone this visionary concept.
School prayer: Judge asked to reconsider ruling
The school prayer debate will take place in more locations than just the Florida Legislature next month.
Florida school district cancels lawmaker letter writing activity it called ‘too political’
A north Florida school district has canceled a three-day high school activity to write letters to state representatives, saying the event is too political.
Major changes to a popular scholarship program that pays for the majority of Florida’s students to attend college easily won approval in the Florida Senate Wednesday.
State Debt Woes Grow Too Big to Camouflage
California, New York and other states are showing many of the same signs of debt overload that recently took Greece to the brink — budgets that will not balance, accounting that masks debt, the use of derivatives to plug holes, and armies of retired public workers who are counting on benefits that are proving harder and harder to pay.
New York freezes construction, school funding
New York state will stop funding new or ongoing construction projects as of April 1 and will hold back $2.1 billion in school aid for two months.
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