Broward Schools & Property Tax Edition: Capitol to Courthouse Headliners — Tuesday, February 1
Feb 1, 2011
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Scott to unveil state budget with tea party organizers in rural Eustis
Rick Scott wants to throw himself a tea party over the Florida budget.
- First-look at Rick Scott’s budget previews significant consolidation efforts
- Governor Rick Scott announces plan to save $1 billion over two years
New merit pay bill filed in Senate
Florida teachers would be judged on their students’ growth on standardized tests, and new teachers would be paid based on that test-score data as part of a new merit pay bill filed Monday in the Florida Senate.
State Representative Mike Weinstein of Jacksonville filed House Bill 565 today, January 31, 2011, that would authorize the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct a study to determine the minimum amount of per-student funding necessary to meet Florida’s Constitutional requirements.
A quirk in state law requires property appraisers to increase taxes on homes with a homestead exemption even though its value may have decreased. The increases have released an avalanche of criticism and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, prompted one lawmaker too seek a change in the law.
Severe cuts expected for Florida school districts unless shortfall is filled, officials say
You thought this school year was bad?
With the federal stimulus dollars set to run out in June, next year has the potential to be a lot worse, Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
Florida has spent only half of its stimulus grants
Florida still has spent only about half of the federal grant and contract money it has been awarded through the federal-stimulus program, although most of what is left – more than $5.5 billion – is slated to be spent soon.
Florida Lawmakers Honing In on School Cuts
Last year, federal stimulus funds were used to plug budget holes.
Teacher layoffs. Few if any electives. School supplies that only last a school a few months.
Conservative think tank: Florida’s progress with disabled students shows need for more vouchers
Arizona should establish “education savings accounts” for students with disabilities – and maybe all students – if it wants to achieve the progress that Florida special education students made after the introduction of McKay vouchers, the Goldwater Institute argues in a new policy brief.
NAACP threatens to sue if Florida tries to take struggling schools from county control
The local National Association Advancement of Colored People branch wants the Duval County School Board to stand up to the state, but if the district won’t the group is prepared to pursue a law suit to protect the Duval’s poorest performing schools.
Editorial: Recapture rule should be axed
1:10 A.M. – The Legislature should get rid of the recapture rule, which allows tax assessments to rise even as a property’s value drops.
Opinion: Over 280 former officials that owe the state money
Time, the saying goes, heals all wounds. By the looks of it, time also may let off the hook nearly 300 former public officials – including some from Central Florida – who for as long as nine years have dodged paying more than $300,000 in state fines.
Bill lets leaders control salary
A proposed law would let counties’ elected officials reduce their own pay
A proposed state law touches on one of the hot-button issues of last year’s lengthy and often-contentious Charter Review Commission debates: the salaries of counties’ elected officials.
State may close parks to keep budget in check
Some of this area’s more iconic natural places and historic sites, among them the 120-foot-deep limestone sinkhole at Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park and the historic Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home, could fall victim to state budget cuts.
Battle over Florida tax on cheap cigarettes heats up
Millions at stake and a Florida company finds friends in the Legislature.
A battle could once again be looming at the Capitol about a tax that would affect dozens of cigarette manufacturers but is aimed largely at a South Florida company that sells low-priced smokes across the state.
Blog: Battle over hotel taxes heats up again
The battle over how much tax local governments receive when you book a hotel room online is heating up in another arena: the Florida Legislature.
South Florida lawmaker proposes selling naming rights for roads, statewide attractions
Florida should sell naming rights to everything from state roads to beaches to help cover its budget shortfall, according to state Representative Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton.
The first airing of Senator Wise’s teacher merit pay bill looks to be next week in his committee. The Jacksonville Republican is head of the Senate education panel, which is slated to discuss the bill he filed today.
Palm Beach County teachers’ union balks at district plan to hire adjunct teachers at $18 an hour
The Palm Beach County teachers’ union is balking at a school district proposal to hire adjunct teachers at $18-per-hour with no benefits as part of a modified teacher contract for the 2010-11 school year.
Florida Prepaid college plan deadline is Monday
Thinking about buying a prepaid college plan before the prices go up again? You have until 11:59 p.m. Monday to enroll. After that, you will have to wait until October, when next year’s plans are unveiled.
Parents of bullied kids hiring lawyers, suing school districts
In Central Florida and elsewhere, more families are suing school boards, saying they’re to blame
Ned Charles IV has a form of cerebral palsy. The 15-year-old is in special-education classes. So was the boy who hit him, grabbed his neck and pushed him to the ground while waiting for a school bus two years ago at Tuskawilla Middle School.
Broward names Teacher of the Year finalists
Congratulations to this year’s finalists for Broward Teacher of the Year. One of them will win the countywide honor at a Feb. 16 ceremony.
Strip club owner’s gift to school stirs controversy
Over the past five years, Joe Rodriguez has donated tens of thousands of dollars to charities for at-risk and underprivileged children.
Wellington parents camp out for spot in prestigious preschool
Beginning Sunday night, parents in Wellington gathered at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church hoping to secure a spot for their children at a prestigious preschool today.
Inquiry of Palm Beach County schools superintendent may result in dilemma
In the past 16 months, Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Art Johnson has weathered many storms, including a bruising battle with parents and teachers about a controversial testing and teaching program.
Florida Drivers Are Paying $1 Billion ‘Fraud Tax’
Staged auto accidents and questionable medical treatment are adding around $1 billion to the costs of Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system, the Insurance Information Institute says.
Wall Street Journal: What Sent States’ Fiscal Picture Into a Tailspin?
Amid all the debate about bankruptcy and bailouts and all the headlines about local-government layoffs, benefit cuts, reduced services and tax increases, ponder one simple question:
Texas superintendents seek to save schools budgets
Dozens of school superintendents gathered Monday in Austin to decry proposed budget cuts that they say would devastate the quality of education Texas children receive.
Lawsuit: City property-tax system illegal
Skeptical that Mayor Nutter and City Council will ever muster the political courage to repair Philadelphia’s long-broken property-tax system, a group of tax-overhaul advocates and property owners is suing to force the city to adopt a new, equitable set of property values.
GOP Governors Take Aim at Teacher Tenure
Seizing on a national anxiety over poor student performance, many governors are taking aim at a bedrock tradition of public schools: teacher tenure.
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