Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners–Sept. 21

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Legislative leader promises Fla. businesses tax relief

When Florida lawmakers swung into action to soothe the pain from soaring property taxes, the state’s business community bitterly complained that it had been mostly left out.

 

Jacksonville public hearing speakers want tax cuts

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida needs to cut taxes and end the cycle of increasing levies and spending, tax payers Thursday told a state commission, which has the power to place state constitutional measures on the ballot or make recommendations to the Legislature.

 

S. Florida No. 1 for inflation

Rent, food costs outpace rest of country

New York’s got nothing on us. Neither does Chicago, Los Angeles or Atlanta, when it comes to inflation. South Florida has the highest annual rate of any of the major metropolitan areas tracked by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to the latest rankings released Wednesday.

 

Governor’s tax-cut crusade sidesteps hard facts on schools

Gov. Charlie Crist insists a bigger property tax break will help Veronica Greco sell her $239,000 Tampa bungalow, and whether he’s right is not particularly relevant.

 

Closer Look At Tax Reform Reveals Savings And Uncertainty

A bungalow for sale on North B Street in Tampa has become a poster home for tax reform.

 

Businesses ask Rubio for more tax relief

The governor made a surprise visit during a meeting on tax cuts.

TALLAHASSEE – A powerful group of business leaders pledged support Wednesday for the super homestead exemption, but told House Speaker Marco Rubio that much more needs to be done to cut property taxes.

 

Mobile home owners may get break

A tangibles tax deal could help voter turnout.

A little publicized provision in the proposed property tax amendment gives a tax break to mobile home owners and creates a potentially potent voting bloc.

 

Change to Miami’s ‘poor’ label to affect budget cuts

Dade budget deal contains fewer cuts

Florida Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio have put the city of Miami on notice: At an Oct. 3 special legislative session, they intend to tweak the June tax-cut legislation to ensure that Miami is no longer listed as a poor city — a designation that let the city avoid steep budget cuts.

 

Palm Beach County politicians plan campaign against ‘super’ homestead exemption

Political and local government leaders in south Palm Beach County began coordinating a campaign Thursday on the “super” homestead exemption with commercials, fact sheets stuffed in water bills, government-promoted tax calculators and community forums.

 

Our views: Getting fooled again?

‘Reform’ record of Crist and Legislature doing nothing to build public trust

On Jan. 29, Floridians will vote on a constitutional amendment to remake the state’s property tax structure.

 

Education Foundation Opens Office In Tampa

TAMPA – An Arizona-based foundation that made headlines last year by giving millions to Florida colleges and universities has set up shop in Tampa.

 

Florida Supreme Court to reconsider decision on governmental borrowing

The Florida Supreme Court will reconsider a landmark decision that reversed almost three decades of legal precedent that local governments had relied upon to borrow billions of dollars for schools, roads and other projects.

 

Palm Beach County convention center is expected to lose money until 2011

Loss of $1 million per year expected

Four years after opening and without an adjacent hotel to woo big conventions, Palm Beach County’s convention center will continue to bleed about $1 million a year until at least 2011, county tourism officials are projecting.

 

Special election set for Florida House seat in SW Broward

Voters in southwest Broward County will go to the polls next month to help pick a replacement for the late state Rep. Mike Davis, R-Naples. The winner of the Republican primary is likely to win the seat.

 

Broward School District gives back $855,000 to Pines

The bank account of the Pembroke Pines charter school system will receive a hefty wire transfer today from the Broward School District, ending a fight over money.

 

Pell grants good for all

The bill passed recently by Congress increasing federal Pell grants to needy students and reducing interest rates on loans is a good thing for Florida’s independent colleges and universities and even more so for the students who attend them.

 

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT:  Protect MDC funding

Public colleges are engines of prosperity, and few are more deserving of support than Miami Dade College.

 

489 new classrooms in Broward called ‘potentially unsafe structures’

Broward County’s public school children have moved into almost 500 new classrooms that either failed inspection or were cleared for occupancy by unlicensed inspectors, according to a school district audit.

 

Empty desks cost $2.5M

The school district gained far fewer students than expected. It’s a blow to the budget.

BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando County School Board’s budget is barely two weeks old, but officials say it’s already looking outdated.

 

Not really a school nurse?

Hernando County officials say a school employee lied about being an LPN.

BROOKSVILLE — She gave out Band-Aids and cough drops, and even inserted catheters and feeding tubes for special-needs students — just like a real school nurse.

 

Teachers warned: Beware of thieves

Enough pilfering has occurred in schools that officials decide to sound an alarm.

TRINITY – Tanya Getty knows that teachers can get their stuff stolen from their classrooms. It happened a couple of years ago at Trinity Elementary, where she has worked for three years.

 

War Costing $720 Million Each Day, Group Says

CHICAGO, Sept. 21 — The money spent on one day of the Iraq war could buy homes for almost 6,500 families or health care for 423,529 children, or could outfit 1.27 million homes with renewable electricity, according to the American Friends Service Committee, which displayed those statistics on large banners in cities nationwide Thursday and Friday.