Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–May 14
May 14, 2010
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
Crist signs Florida bill legalizing red light cameras
Red light cameras will be fully legal in Florida on July 1.
New Florida budget bill reflects hard times
Back when government coffers were flush, the spring legislative session could seem like Christmas, with lawmakers delivering packages of goodies to their home districts.
Fort Lauderdale officials rule out tax rate hike
Property tax rates in the city likely will not go up this fall despite warnings that a massive budget deficit is on the horizon.
Broward schools cut back on arts, PE
Most elementary schools will scale back arts, PE and library programs — though only some will shed programs entirely — because of Broward school district budget cuts.
The Broward School Board took stock Wednesday of deep budget cuts that will leave some schools without art, music, physical education and library programs next year.
Blog: Florida charter schools get pass on class size
What’s that about? Charter schools in Florida don’t have to meet the class size requirements that have all the other public schools in the state scampering to comply.
Blog: Class size: So the struggles begin (to meet Florida law’s final rules)
School districts are beginning the tough work of figuring out how- in another lean budget year – to shrink the number of students in all their core classes. That’s required under the final, tough requirements of the class-size measure Florida voters approved in 2002.
Blog: Class size (again): The “right size” measure doesn’t have needed support, poll says
A recent poll shows the ballot measure that will ask voters to scale back the strictest parts of Florida’s class-size law doesn’t (at this point) have the support needed to pass.
Class-size rules strain budget in Volusia
District could face huge penalties
Volusia County school officials are staring at stiff fines if they miss the state target in keeping the size of core academic classes within constitutional limits this fall even though voters could change the rules a month later.
Polk Schools Plan to Hire 200 More Teachers to Reduce Class Size
The Polk County School District plans to hire 200 additional teachers next year to comply with the state’s class-size amendment.
Seminole begins painful adjustment to class-size law
Kids who show up at certain Seminole County schools next fall may be told there is no room and they must go elsewhere.
State schools, unions must succeed second time around
Florida had high expectations March 29 when the U.S. Department of Education revealed the first-round winners in the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition, President Obama’s engine for driving education reform in U.S. schools.
- Blog: Race to the Top (another one): Florida seeks grant for new tests
- Miami-Dade teachers boost Florida’s chances of getting education funds
- Palm Beach County School Board joins state bid for Race to the Top money
- Polk School Board, Union Warm to Federal ‘Race to the Top’ Program
- Blog: Orange County backs Race to the Top
- Blog: Pinellas supports revised Race to the Top application
Editorial: Give honest graduation rates
State high schools shouldn’t mask subpar graduation rates.
In 2008, in a novel tactic, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Palm Beach County School District on constitutional grounds over dismal graduation rates – as many as one in three pupils failed to graduate on time with a standard diploma.
Crist signs bill to require civics in Florida schools
Florida governor has signed a bill requiring middle school students to take a civics class and pass an end-of-course test.
Looking for a Hole in California’s Tax-Cutting Laws Armor
In San Francisco, since the passage of Proposition 13, the property tax burden has shifted from commercial to residential property owners. In 1975, commercial property owners paid 59 percent of property taxes.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to bellis@cftlaw.com.