Around the state: Florida boasts three of the top four most affordable universities in America according to a recent study, Palm Beach school board members want legislators to give them flexibility in deciding how to punish students who bring stun guns to schools, Polk schools are revising their hiring procedures after the recent arrest of a high school track coach on sexual assault charges, three Pasco County charter schools are in violation of their contracts with the districts but officials say there’s little they can do about it, Lee school Superintendent Christopher Bernier says he won’t run for the job in 2024, and Pinellas teachers will get 4.5 percent raises on average after a contract agreement with the district was reached Thursday. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade, South Florida: A survey of more than 1,500 teachers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties shows that they are concerned about keeping up with the cost of living, being afraid of losing their job for saying the wrong thing or having the wrong book in class, not having the freedom to teach and support their students, not feeling safe at school and more. Seventy-five percent said there are staff shortages at their schools, 60 percent oppose or strongly oppose the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, 87.5 percent don’t support the new black history standards, 98 percent don’t believe teachers are paid fairly, and 74 percent have considered leaving the profession. WTVJ. Parents of 4th-graders at The Academy of Innovative Education, a K-12 charter school in Miami Springs, are angry that their children were shown 20-30 minutes of a horror film on Oct. 2. Winnie the Pooh, Honey and Blood is about two murderers, one wearing a Winnie the Pooh mask, terrorizing female university students. Vera Hirsh, head of the school, called the movie unsuitable for that age group and said the issue was addressed directly with the teacher. WFOR.
Broward: Broward school officials told their legislative delegation that $16 million in public money used for vouchers didn’t follow students who returned to public schools last year, and are asking for legislation to fix the problem. “How do you recoup the dollars from a family that took the voucher” but then returned to public school? asked Judith Marte, deputy superintendent of finance and operations for Broward. “That is the question.” She said she’s working with state officials to reconcile the issue, but that a more permanent process needs to be in place. Florida Politics.
Orange: Five adults are now serving as fulltime mentors and advocates for troubled students who are struggling in five Orlando middle schools. Advocates’ roles are to figure out why a student is struggling, failing, fighting or missing school and offer solutions. Each is assigned to as many as 25 students, and meets with them at a morning huddle, checks on them in their classrooms, meets with them 1-on-1, eats lunch with them and also speaks with their parents or guardians. “I share with the kids right off the bat I’m not a dean, I’m not a principal, I’m not a safety coordinator,” said Elliot Cohen, who works at Roberto Clemente Middle School. “What I am is an individual that’s here to represent you. Which is what an advocate does. You speak on behalf of someone else.” City leaders will collect data from the program to decide if it should expand to other middle schools and even high schools. WKMG.
Palm Beach: School board members want legislators to reconsider their categorization of stun guns as “zero tolerance” weapons that require automatic expulsion for students who bring them to school. Board chair Frank Barbieri said stun guns should be treated differently than other lethal weapons, such as firearms and knives, because some parents give them to their children for protection getting to and from school or their bus. “We go through this almost on a monthly basis where we are expelling a kid who had no intention, doesn’t show it to anybody, doesn’t take it out, has no intent to hurt anybody,” Barbieri recently said as he pushed for school boards to have flexibility in meting out punishment for possessing one. “Had it in her backpack because mom and dad bought it for her because she walks through a bad neighborhood on her way from the bus, and she has it there just in case she needs it if somebody tries to get her.” WPTV. WPEC.
Polk: District officials have announced a change in their screening procedures for new hires after the arrest in September of a high school track coach on sexual battery charges who had been arrested 12 years earlier on the same charge. Superintendent Frederick Heid said people who apply for teaching, paraeducator or coaching jobs will now have to list any arrest, and not just convictions, on their applications, and criminal background checks will flag both. Before the change, previous arrests didn’t preclude someone from being hired. Lakeland Now.
Pinellas: District officials and the teachers union have reached an agreement on a contract that would provide raises of 4.5 percent, on average. Teachers with highly effective evaluations would receive raises of $2,575, those rated effective would get $1,931, teachers on continuing contracts would get $2,060, and all others would get $965. The district also agreed to pay 80 percent of increased health insurance premiums and cover teachers’ state recertification through June 2025.The agreement will have to be ratified by union members and approved by the school board at its Oct. 24 meeting. Tampa Bay Times.
Lee: Superintendent Christopher Bernier said Thursday he will not run for the job in 2024. Bernier was appointed in May 2022, but voters decided that November to make the position an elected one. “While I support the community’s decision based on the referendum vote in November of 2022, becoming an elected superintendent was never my aspiration,” Bernier said in an e-mail announcing his decision. So far there are two candidates for superintendent, retired educator Denise Carlin and physical education teacher Morgan Wright. WBBH. WGCU. WINK. WFTX.
Pasco: Three charter schools are in violation of their agreements with the school district, but there is little the district can do about it, said charter school supervisor Jeff Yungmann. “For a lot of these things, our hands are tied,” said Yungmann. Unless charters receive two consecutive F grades from the state, the district has little leverage to demand changes, he said. Innovation Prep and Pinecrest are out of compliance with several contract standards and Union Park Academy has reported deficits nearing $2 million, but their management companies have refused to respond to questions and concerns from the district, Superintendent Kurt Browning said. “The school board has a perfunctory role with charters,” he said. “I don’t know why they even have us be part of the approval system or have us doing the reviews, when the reviews don’t amount to a hill of beans.” Tampa Bay Times.
Brevard: A decline in the number of residents of Cocoa Beach is also negatively affecting enrollment at two traditional elementary schools in the city, and city officials said they’re worried that could lead to one of the schools being closed. Cape View Elementary is operating at 54 percent capacity and Roosevelt Elementary is at 47 percent, and their combined enrollment could fit into Roosevelt. District officials said there have been no discussions about closing schools. Florida Today. Diverse work groups have begun considering revisions to the school district’s student code of conduct that would take effect in the fall of 2024. Among the topics being discussed are the definitions of student behavior, corrective strategies and hate-related incidents. Three more meetings are scheduled Nov. 2, Jan. 11 and Feb. 8. The work groups plan to make recommendations to the school board in March, with a finalized code of conduct adopted in April or May. Florida Today.
Alachua: A special education supervisor for the school district was arrested this week and accused of stealing more than $70,000 from the Gainesville sorority Mu Upsilon Omega, the local graduate chapter for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Police said Sheri Janelle Brassfield, 39, who was treasurer for the sorority, faces charges of grand theft, scheme to defraud and uttering a forged instrument. Brassfield was removed as treasurer in March, when the sorority discovered she had been misusing its funds. It arranged for Brassfield to repay the money she took, but she stopped in late April after paying $12,600, and Mu Upsilon Omega filed a criminal complaint. Gainesville Sun. WCJB.
Bay: Five years after Hurricane Michael devastated the county, two schools are still closed. Students at Everitt Middle School and Springfield Elementary have been relocated to other schools as district officials are still trying to determine if the schools will be rebuilt, repaired or closed permanently. Superintendent Mark McQueen said “there are a lot of factors that need to be determined.” WJHG.
Flagler: School board members who discussed firing board attorney Kristy Gavin are now considering a proposal to have her begin working instead for Superintendent LaShakia Moore. Under the scenario, which will be considered at the Oct. 17 board meeting, a law firm would be retained to represent the board and Gavin would work directly for Moore. Flagler Live. A 15-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student was arrested this week and accused of threatening to shoot two classmates. Sheriff’s deputies said the boy pointed what appeared to be a gun and pulled the trigger several times. Deputies stopped the boy and discovered it was a gel blaster gun that looked like a Glock firearm with graffiti drawings on it. WJXT. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Flagler Live.
Colleges and universities: Three of the top four universities ranked as the most affordable schools in the country are located in Florida, according to a study by research.com. The University of Florida, at $20,045 a year for tuition and fees, room and board and books and supplies, is ranked first and Florida State University is second at $20,058. Fourth is the University of South Florida at $20,078. USA Today Florida Network. The city of Miami Gardens is partnering with Miami-Dade College, St.Thomas University and Florida Memorial to create a program in the new education wing at the Betty T. Ferguson recreational complex to help residents to earn college credits. WSVN.
Around the nation: The conservative activist organization Moms for Liberty claims it has flipped 17 school boards in the 2022 elections, and nine superintendents in those districts have subsequently resigned or been fired. Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, founders of the group, said their endorsed board members don’t always intend to replace superintendents, but that sometimes it’s “necessary.” The 74. A new round of student loan forgiveness will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt. The move comes as payments on loans are restarting after a three-year pause because of the pandemic. Associated Press.
Opinions on schools: Every child deserves a quality education — and violence cannot be tolerated on school campuses. Those are two things that a school district must balance as it deals with student misbehavior. So far, Pasco County appears to have the right approach. Tampa Bay Times.
