Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–June 16
Jun 16, 2009
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Blog: Broward County Administrator proposes tax rate hike
Broward County’s top administrator is suggesting a small property tax increase as a way to avoid some of the most dramatic cuts proposed to balance next year’s budget.
Longtime homeowners face big tax hikes
There’s a flip side to Save Our Homes. With property values falling instead of rising, many longtime homeowners may suddenly get hit with big tax increases.
When they tear open their tax notices this fall, longtime South Florida homeowners are in for a jolt.
New law forces Florida schools to improve — or else
Thousands of Florida public schools will have to ramp up efforts to reach their weakest students this fall or face sanctions — including possibly replacing principals and teacher aides and paying teachers based on performance instead of experience.
Crist signs school accountability measure
Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Friday a bill that would require low performing schools to show they are improving or be forced to make some changes.
Editorial: Tough choice on school tax
Facing a 10 percent drop in property tax revenue this year, the Pinellas School Board needs to keep all options on the table to deal with the crisis.
No school tax-hike in Orange County
But School Board must drastically scale back building, renovations plans
Orange County’s school board Monday shot down a move to raise taxes while also deciding to look at dramatically overhauling an ambitious school-renovations program funded by sales taxes.
Lee superintendent’s budget alternative would dip into reserves instead of raise taxes
The coming year hangs in the balance at Tuesday’s Lee County School Board meetings.
Naples may have higher maximum tax rate next year
Naples residents may see some changes on next year’s property tax bill.
Audit finds Longwood didn’t collect its share of sales tax, grant money
Longwood commissioners were presented Monday night with a financial audit showing that the city hadn’t claimed its share of a county sales tax and had neglected to collect money from grants.
Crist Signs Legislature’s Parameters for Historic Gaming Compact with Seminole Tribe of Florida
Estimated to provide billions of dollars to support education
Governor Charlie Crist on Monday signed Senate Bill 788, relating to gaming, which outlines the Legislature’s parameters for a 15-year compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that will maximize funding for K-12 public schools.
Foreclosures can affect your property taxes
Figuring out the value of real estate typically involves a remarkably linear process: you look at recent prices paid for similar properties in the same area and calculate accordingly.
Impact fees too often a fallback for local governments, economist says
On Thursday yet another voice was added to the Collier County growth and impact fee discussion.
Selling public land, to buy more, planned to help Everglades
Even as South Florida water managers push for their largest land deal ever, they are also trying to unload thousands of acres taxpayers already own.
396 teachers losing jobs in Broward
Broward County now leads the state in teacher layoffs, with nearly 400 teachers — twice as many as anticipated — receiving pink slips over the weekend.
At least 396 Broward teachers — most of them newcomers and working in elementary schools — lost their jobs over the weekend, a figure almost double the number of layoffs the school district had predicted last month.
Hollywood to consider starting charter school
In an effort to attract young families, Hollywood commissioners will hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to create a city-run charter school.
Report: Florida charter school students not keeping pace with peers in public schools
A report released Monday singled out Florida as a state where charter school students are not making the same gains as their peers.
State economic recovery to be rocky
Florida’s path to economic recovery will be rockier and longer than the rest of the country, according to a new report, thanks in part, to a dreary housing market and an unemployment picture unlikely to improve for another year.
Education chief hopes stimulus will push standards
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is offering federal cash incentives to achieve one of his priorities: developing national standards for reading and math to replace a current hodgepodge of benchmarks in the states.
U.S. to Spend Up to $350 Million For Uniform Tests in Reading, Math
The federal government will spend up to $350 million to help states developing national standards for reading and math, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Sunday.
OPPAGA releases education reports
The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) recently released four education-related reports:
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