Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–Oct. 18

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Senate passes part of property tax cut plan

The Senate decided Wednesday to ask voters to lower property taxes, but still has to work out differences with the House over details of the plan.

 

Crist: Senate property-tax plan good enough

TALLAHASSEE — The proposed property tax plan that limped out of the Senate may be the best legislators can get, Gov. Charlie Crist told The Miami Herald Thursday.

 

House quits tax session for the weekend

TALLAHASSEE — Paralyzed by options, the Florida House of Representatives unexpectedly left town for the weekend to hash out yet another property-tax deal now that the previous agreement the Senate stuck to appears in shambles.

 

Dems not backing down on property tax

House Democrats said that they will deny Republican leaders the two-thirds vote needed today to put an ever-growing package of property tax relief on the Jan. 29 ballot.

 

Tax reform hits big snag

Save Our Homes protections may be transferred to new homesteads, on homes valued up to $1 million — but only on the non-school part of the tax bill;

 

House, Senate property tax cut plans diverge

A legislative effort to deliver property tax relief to Florida homeowners got bogged down Wednesday over differences between the House and Senate over how far the tax cutting should go.

 

Tax-cut deals get no-rush treatment

The chaotic pace of a special session on an $11 billion property tax cutting compromise slowed to a crawl Wednesday while Gov. Charlie Crist and House and Senate leaders regrouped.

 

Homestead amendment squeaks through Florida Senate

TALLAHASSEE — With mutineering Miami Republicans and doubting Democrats, the state Senate barely mustered enough votes Wednesday to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that asks voters to cut property taxes.

 

Like it or not, lawmakers get a break this weekend

Football, national politics or just a plain old day of rest are singing the siren call for state legislators, who appear to be farther apart than ever on a property tax reform agreement as a busy weekend looms.

 

Hypocrisy on taxes

Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, is like a guy who always waits for his dinner companions to pick up the check, then wants to know why they can’t eat as cheaply as he does.

 

Senate ratifies massive tax cut

The future of property taxes in Florida grew cloudier Wednesday, as one version of a proposed constitutional amendment limped through the Senate while House members postponed debate to mull dozens of amendments.

 

Lawmakers’ tax plans don’t mesh

TALLAHASSEE — With confusion and questions surrounding their plan, Florida lawmakers pressed ahead Tuesday with a multi-pronged effort to cut property taxes through a constitutional amendment that will be before voters in January.

 

Yet another tax plan emerges

With a property-tax deal nowhere in sight, House Democrats floated a new plan Wednesday they said would provide deeper discounts for South Florida homeowners as a special meeting of the Legislature threatened to drag into next week.

 

Proposals that cut property taxes for seniors have biggest impact

Broward County could reap the biggest impact in Florida from proposals to cut — or even abolish — property taxes for low-income seniors, according to the state Department of Revenue.

 

Tax-cut deals get no-rush treatment

TALLAHASSEE — The chaotic pace of a special session on an $11 billion property tax cutting compromise slowed to a crawl Wednesday while Gov. Charlie Crist and House and Senate leaders regrouped.

 

Palm Beach County School District gets grant, plans to expand magnet programs

Palm Beach County students will have more school program choices than ever next year, thanks in part to a new $10.9 million federal grant.

 

Board of Education strips districts of exclusive charter schools control

The state Board of Education has stripped South Florida school districts of their exclusive control over charter schools.

 

Panel gets local charter school authority

The Broward and Miami-Dade school districts lost their exclusive right to approve or deny the creation of new charter schools within their borders this week.

 

Staph Infections Reported at Schools Across the Country

A high school student hospitalized for more than a week with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection died on Monday, as schools across the country were reporting outbreaks of staph infections, including the antibiotic-resistant strain.