Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–Aug. 14

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Late applicants join race for education commissioner

The deadline to submit applications for Florida’s Education Commissioner had passed, but that didn’t prevent a few more submissions from being accepted.

 

Man pays big tax bill in coins, $1 bills

Cary Malchow was so upset by his property tax bill he decided to make a scene by paying it – all $12,656.07 – with bags of change and $1 bills.

Malchow lugged the cash-filled bags to the Delaware County treasurer’s office Monday and plunked them onto the counter. His unorthodox payment stalled the line as cashiers labored to count it by hand.

 

County schools head argues for stable funds this year

Most of the time, Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Art Johnson is up for a fight.  The former champion wrestler is never afraid to speak his mind and criticize policies he doesn’t like. But Johnson is willing to stay on the sidelines for what could be a battle over billions of dollars.

 

Voucher System Theft Case Goes to Jurors

BARTOW – Jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon after a five-week trial of two sisters who are accused of using their family’s private school to steal money from Florida’s voucher system and other state and federal programs.

 

School Board Sues To Clarify Infrastructure Duties

TAMPA – The issue of who should pay for the roads, sewers and sidewalks that lead to Hillsborough County schools is headed to court.

 

Retailers Oppose Land-Use Veto Plan

ORLANDO – Add retailers and commercial real estate developers to the list opposing Florida’s proposed Hometown Democracy initiative.

 

State loses cash if needy kids aren’t insured

J.W. Loucks looked a bit bored as he listened to speeches promoting Florida KidCare, the state’s health-insurance program for needy children.

 

School Employees File Claim Over Shelter Staffing Mandate

LAND – O’ LAKES – The union that represents school employees has filed an unfair labor practices claim against the Pasco County school district over whether the employees can be required to work at hurricane shelters.

 

Okeechobee County School Board moves closer to banning ‘sex-based’ clubs

OKEECHOBEE — The Okeechobee County School Board on Tuesday moved closer to banning what it calls “sex-based clubs,” student groups that challenge the district’s abstinence-only sex education, according to district officials.

 

Without change, Bright Futures looks pretty dim

Here is a ticket to college. You decide who gets it.  The first choice is a fine young man from Winter Park. He is an IB graduate with a 4.0 grade-point average and a 1,500 on his SAT.

 

Teacher discipline data will be available on public Web site

Florida parents can check state misconduct records of their children’s teachers on a public Web site starting Monday, the first day of school in most communities.

 

City ranks budget expenses

Like participants in an NCAA football poll, city leaders are employing a point-ranking system to help tackle a $1.1 million budget shortfall.

 

Frankel’s right: Cities hurting from federal negligence

She and other elected officials from across the nation didn’t have any luck getting their message through to the White House, but the country needs to hear some of what Lois Frankel has to say:

 

Editorial: Florida deserves some fairness

Enjoy it while you can. Congress is about to strip Floridians of a $750 million tax break.

 

Boca discusses switching workers from pensions to 401(k) plan

Days after laying off 45 workers, the City Council began talking about what has historically been political poison — reining in pension costs.

 

All signs point to housing glut

Existing-home sales fall 42.6% from a year ago; median sales price drops, too.

The Orlando area’s sluggish housing market is showing no signs of a turnaround, with the latest numbers going from bad to worse during what should be the hottest sales stretch of the year.

 

Need, lifestyle keep seniors on the job

At 92, Pete Perillo still has a workday routine. He says a prayer and then heads off in uniform to guard the city courthouse.