Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–November 24

 

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Florida Makes List for Unfair Taxing

The poorest Floridians pay a rate more than six times greater than the state’s millionaires when it comes to state and local taxes, a nonpartisan group says in a new report.

 

Florida tax revenue falls 8.6% in Q3

Tax revenue across the country declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

 

Plan to tap transit fund helps push Florida legislators toward special session on rail

A special lawmaking session on high-speed and commuter rail inched closer Monday as legislative leaders and the governor said they were ready to tap surplus money in the transportation budget rather than raise taxes on rental cars to help pay for the transit projects.

 

Senate looking at class-size change

The Florida Senate, which steadily has resisted any attempt to overturn or soften state class-size restrictions, is looking more ready to deal.

• Rethinking class size
• Brevard needs hundreds of new teachers to meet mandate
• BLOG:  Class-size rules? Let voters repeal them, state Senator suggests
• EDITORIAL:  Kids deserve better

 

COLUMN:  Council on Efficient Government is back on chopping block

You can always get a good night’s sleep if you sedate your watchdog — especially if you’ve got a good, alert hound that cares about the job.

 

EDITORIAL:  Derail Florida’s pension gravy train

State Sen. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey is right to once again target for change how the state rewards employees for years of service when they retire -a program that has exposed taxpayers to financial risk for too long.

 

Broward School Board to consider insurance committee shake up

After taking heat for skyrocketing health insurance rates, the Broward School Board will consider changing the makeup of an insurance advisory committee at a Tuesday workshop meeting.

 

Marion County seeks a new tax process

For almost 25 years Marion County officials have relied on a straw poll to guide them in determining whether to tax local subdivisions that seek to get their roads paved. It has been a unique, and largely effective, system among Florida counties – but not a perfect one.

 

Seminole school board may go it alone on tax extension

With the Seminole County Commission cool to continuing a sales tax to finance school construction, the School Board may go it alone in asking voters next year to approve the tax – but just half as much.

 

Broward school analysts to get back pay for additional work

The Broward school district should not have made eight employees take on additional work outside their job descriptions without paying them for it, an arbitrator ruled last week.

 

Battle over school boundaries may hit all Broward cities

Cooper City parents say changes imminent across county

For the parents and community leaders fighting boundary changes at Pioneer Middle School, the issue has grown larger than a battle to keep students in Cooper City schools.

 

District looking at early version of school calendar for 2010-11

Next year’s Palm Beach County school calendar may turn out to be nearly a mirror image of the current one.

 

St. Petersburg City Council stashes away $2 million of surplus in reserves

The City Council opted Monday against using a $2 million surplus to shore up community groups devastated by the recession.

 

BLOG:  Teacher prep programs judged by student test scores (more info)

We reported last week that the state was moving to a system that would judge the performance of teacher preparation programs by looking at how the students of those program’s graduates had done on FCAT.

 

BLOG:  Democrats applaud education lawsuit

Florida Democrats are applauding a lawsuit filed Wednesday by eight plaintiffs against the state for not spending enough money on education and focusing too much on high-stakes tests.

 

EDITORIAL:  Tobacco tax

It’s a symptom of bad fiscal habits

When the Legislature was debating last spring whether to raise money by substantially boosting the taxes on tobacco, a couple of arguments were all that caused even a pause in enthusiasm for this “sin tax.”

 

Fla.’s private colleges beef up recruiting

In an economy where money is tight and everyone’s looking for a bargain, Florida’s most expensive universities are attracting more students than expected.

 

Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe:  A roadmap to reshape Florida economy, travel

Florida will be the third-largest state by 2014. We need a plan to deal with our traffic woes beyond simply spending tax money on widening roads. The referendum on rail transit and other transportation needs allows the voters to finally address our congestion issues.

 

EDITORIAL:  Florida stands alone in putting away juveniles

Florida is ground zero for a question that the U.S. Supreme Court is pondering: Is it constitutional for judges to send children to prison for the rest of their lives for crimes other than murder?

 

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