Around the state: St. Johns County’s school Superintendent Tim Forson says he’s retiring at the end of the school year, Alachua schools will pay interim superintendent Kamela Patton $19,500 a month for six months while a search is conducted for a new leader, Miami-Dade teachers overwhelmingly ratify a contract agreement with the district, the state is calling for revisions in the Polk school sex education curriculum that will delay the lessons at least until December, black college students around the country receive a racist message after the election saying they have been selected to be enslaved and assigned to pick cotton at a plantation, and a Seminole County teacher is suspended for telling students that the new government wants to deport nonwhite citizens. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: Nearly 83 percent of the district’s teachers have voted to approve the contract agreement with the district. It calls for an average salary increase of 4.5 percent, no change in health-care premiums, supplements for special education teachers, and more. School board members also have to approve the deal. WFOR. Eleven district school zones have new speed-detection cameras that will photograph drivers going more than 10 mph over the posted 15 mph limit. For the next month, those drivers will receive warnings in the mail. After that grace period, speeders will be mailed $100 tickets. “Cameras and speed detection systems only operate on school days, beginning 30 minutes before and ending 30 minutes after school,” said a Miami-Dade police spokesperson. WTVJ.
Palm Beach: A physical education teacher at Sunset Palms Elementary School in Boynton Beach is the subject of a civil rights lawsuit accusing him of allegedly raping a student at the school just before the pandemic closed schools. Dax Rankine was never charged and was working at the school until earlier this week. Rankine had been denied a teaching certificate in 2007 after multiple arrests, but sued the Florida Department of Education. He got his license to teach as part of a settlement with the DOE and was subsequently hired by the district. Boca News Now. The school district doesn’t have a policy against students using cell phones during the school day, but Palm Springs Community Middle School decided to spend $40,000 to start its own pilot program. Students drop their phones into a pouch when they arrive at school, and they are locked away until classes are dismissed. WPTV. Glenda Sheffield, chief academic officer of the 200,000-student school district, is one of three finalists for the superintendent’s job in Hampton County, S.C., which is located about 100 miles southeast of Columbia. Palm Beach Post.
Polk: After a year’s wait, district officials have finally heard from the Florida Department of Education about their sex education proposal. DOE is requiring some changes in the outlined instruction for students in grades 4-12, and district spokesman Kyle Kennedy said the revisions won’t be ready for students until December at the earliest. Students have had no sex education classes since the spring of 2023. Florida requires districts to get approval for their lessons, and that they must emphasize abstinence and remove teaching about contraception, showing images of human reproductive anatomy or discussing such topics as sexual consent and domestic violence. Lakeland Ledger.
Seminole: A Lake Brantley High School biology teacher has been suspended after comments she allegedly made to one of her classes after the election. “If you are not white, you are going to be in trouble over the next four years as far as the living situation of the United States, and I’m not kidding. … They want to deport you,” the unnamed teacher reportedly told her students Wednesday. “After an initial review of this matter, we have forwarded the concerns to the Office of Professional Standards, and the teacher has been placed on temporary administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into these allegations,” a school official said. WESH.
St. Johns: School Superintendent Tim Forson said Thursday that he is retiring at the end of this school year. Forson began working in the district 40 years ago as a teacher and coach, then was a principal and the deputy superintendent for operations before retiring. When former superintendent Joseph Joyner retired in 2016, Forson was hired as his replacement. His last day is June 30, 2025. A search for his replacement will begin soon, said a district spokesperson. Jacksonville Today.
Marion: School board chair Nancy Thrower has praised the community’s support Tuesday for a half-cent sales tax to fund school construction and repairs. “I couldn’t smile widely enough,” Thrower said at Thursday’s board meeting. “It was just so exciting and such a relief and we’re so grateful to the community for recognizing the need and really supporting it.” The tax, which was approved by 59 percent of voters, is expected to generate about $300 million over its 10-year life. WKMG.
Sarasota: A $175 million school being built in North Port and opening in 2026 finally has an identity. Wellen Park High School will take the name of the neighborhood where it’s located. Its mascot will be an eagle and the school colors will be red, white and blue, the district’s naming committee recommended and the school board endorsed. Charlotte Sun.
Escambia: A former bookkeeper for various teams and organizations at Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill has been arrested and accused of embezzling more than $50,000. Deputies said Lindsey Kelley, 41, is charged with grand theft, scheme to defraud and false entry in books of business. She is alleged to have stolen $52,278 in cash between July 1, 2023, and Aug. 30, 2024. Kelley resigned after her arrest in August on unrelated credit card fraud and grand theft charges, which triggered the audit of the school’s financial records. WEAR.
Okaloosa: Three school workers have been named as finalists for the district’s support professional of the year award. They are: Demaris Padilla, an interpreter at Elliott Point Elementary; Andrea Waters, a secretary at Okaloosa Technical College; and Guadalupe Salas, a secretary at Shoal River Middle. The winner will be announced Nov. 15. Okaloosa County School District.
Alachua: Kamela Patton will be paid $19,500 a month from Nov. 18 through June 2025 under a proposed contract to become the district’s interim superintendent. The former Collier County superintendent would also receive monthly stipends of $2,000 for temporary housing expenses, $600 for a car allowance and $165 for a cell phone. School board members will vote on the contract Nov. 13. Gainesville Sun. Mainstreet Daily News. Independent Florida Alligator.
Colleges and universities: A private college in Windermere run by the family of Republican state Rep. Carolina Amesty has gotten a one-month extension of its license to operate from Florida’s Commission for Independent Education. Amesty, the former vice president at Central Christian University, was indicted on charges that she forged signatures needed on the school’s application for the extension. Amesty lost her House re-election bid Tuesday. Orlando Sentinel. A 21-year-old student at Santa Fe College in Gainesville was arrested Thursday and accused of having a gun on campus. Police said Jordan Tucker had two handguns in his backpack. WCJB. Victor Molinari, a University of South Florida aging studies professor from 2002 until 2023, died Nov. 4. University of South Florida.
Legislative leadership: Incoming House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, announced an overhaul of committees and named their chairs Thursday. Perez said he is removing the K-12 and higher education divide in the Education & Employment subcommittees as a way to prepare students for whatever future they choose. Chairing that committee is Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, who is scheduled to become House speaker in 2028. Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, also announced his leadership team, which includes outgoing Senate president Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, as chair of the Rules Committee. USA Today Florida Network. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.
Around the nation: Black students around the country and at least one woman in Fort Myers are reporting receiving text messages Thursday telling them they’ve been selected to be enslaved and assigned to pick cotton at a plantation. Some of the messages were labeled as coming from “A TRUMP SUPPORTER.” The messages seem to be targeting college students, but other organizations also say they have received texts. “Some students have received these hateful text messages,” said Ohio State University spokesman Ben Johnson. “We have reported the messages to the Office of Institutional Equity and are offering support services.” USA Today Florida Network. WBBH.
