Around the state: Richard Corcoran was elevated by trustees Tuesday to the presidency of New College of Florida, an administrative law judge recommends that a fired Miami-Dade teacher be exonerated for refusing to call a transgender student by preferred pronouns and for telling the student she was a Christian “and my God made no mistakes,” the FBI and the Flagler sheriff’s office are investigating a large electronic payment the school district made to a vendor that never arrived, Broward College trustees pick an ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis as acting president, two students are expelled in Pasco County for fighting in schools, and boys continue to lag behind girls in English language proficiency in elementary and middle school, according to new research. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: An administrative law judge has recommended that a teacher be exonerated for refusing to call a transgender student by preferred pronouns in December 2019 and telling the student, “I’m a Christian, and my God made no mistakes.” Jose de Diego Middle School science teacher Yojary E. Mundaray was fired in June 2020 after a complaint about the incident led the school board to determine there was probable cause that she violated school board policies. Judge John Van Laningham’s ruling now goes to the state Education Practices Commission for a final decision. News Service of Florida. A 9th-grader riding his bike to Miami Norland Senior High School on Tuesday was struck and killed by a plumbing van. The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with Miami Gardens police, who are continuing their investigation. WPLG. WSVN. WTVJ. WFOR.
Broward: A former administrative assistant at Center Academy Coral Springs faces money laundering and theft charges after allegedly funneling $246,000 of the school’s money into her personal accounts between 2018 and December 2022. Maria Velasco, 39, was given the opportunity to repay the money, but returned just $2,000 before refusing to make further payments. WTVJ.
Lee: Two Republicans have announced their intention to run for the school superintendent’s position in 2024. Denise Carlin, a retired educator, and Morgan Wright, a physical education teacher, both say retaining teachers is a high priority. Current Superintendent Christopher Bernier, who was appointed, has not yet announced if he’ll be a candidate. WBBH.
Pasco: Two students were expelled Tuesday for fighting in school and more will soon follow them, said Superintendent Kurt Browning. Expelled were two Zephyrhills High students who were involved in a Sept. 12 brawl at the school. Students who took part in a fight Sept. 19 at Anclote High will also be removed, Browning said. All will be given the option of attending virtual school. “It’s not my intent to keep them from learning,” Browning said. “My intent is to get these disruptive kids off our school campuses.” Tampa Bay Times. District officials have removed a resource guide for parents from their website after a parent complained that it suggested ways for parents to discuss masturbation with children as young as 3 years old. WPEC. New Port Richey officials have bought the Harry Schwettman Education Center from the school board for $1.75 million. The center was formerly the site of Gulf High School, but hasn’t been used by the district for years. City officials have made no decision how the property will be used. Suncoast News.
Volusia: Traveling lessons in science, technology, engineering and math will soon be available to district students through a STEM bus that will travel to schools and community events. Onboard are digital microscopes, magnets, a 3D printing machine, iPads, computers and mini-labs for experiments. “It’s about instilling that love of learning and hands-on opportunities early (and being) exposed to opportunities and scenarios to solve real-world problems,” said Superintendent Carmen Balgobin. WOFL.
Collier: A 13-year-old student at Golden Gate Middle School was arrested Tuesday and accused of stabbing a teacher in the hand with a mechanical pencil and hitting her in the back of the head with a backpack. Deputies said the student became violent when the teacher took a pair of scissors from him. When the student began to cry, the teacher gave him a pass to see a counselor and he attacked her. Her injuries were considered minor. WINK. WFTX. WBBH.
Alachua: School board members voted Tuesday to spend $696,200 to install a rubberized track at Hawthorne Middle/High School. Typically, schools would pay at least a portion of the cost, but school board chair Tina Certain said it was unfair to expect the small school to be able to pay that much. Funding will come from the district’s capital fund. Main Street Daily News.
Hernando: District officials released a rezoning plan Tuesday calling for a partially zoned magnet high school becoming fully zoned and a magnet elementary school taking in some zoned students. About 48 percent of Nature Coast Technical High School are now zoned for the school, and Chocachatti Elementary School has no zoned students. Administrators say the changes are necessary to handle future growth. They expect to build two new high schools in the near future, and expand five other schools before 2028. The proposal will be discussed at the school board’s Oct. 10 workshop meeting. Suncoast News.
Flagler: District officials said Tuesday that a “significant” amount of money was recently transferred electronically to a possibly fraudulent vendor bank account. The FBI, sheriff’s office and district are all investigating. It was reported that the sum was $700,000, and it was intended as a payment to a contractor working on the $22.6 million expansion at Matanzas High School but did not arrive as scheduled, triggering the investigation. “The message is that we’re looking at our processes, we’re taking a close look at our processes,” said Jason Wheeler, the district’s chief spokesperson. Flagler Live. Daytona Beach News-Journal. WKMG.
Colleges and universities: New College of Florida trustees voted 10-2 Tuesday to elevate interim president Richard Corcoran to the presidency. Corcoran, a former speaker of the Florida House, education commissioner and an ally of Gov. DeSantis, was appointed as the interim leader in February after a conservative takeover of the board of trustees. One of those trustees, Christopher Rufo, said Tuesday that Corcoran was best suited to “re-establish public authority over the public system” and “radically shake up the institution.” Corcoran, whose base salary is $699,000, now begins contract negotiations. Trustees previously approved a range of $893,641 and $1,547,324 as total compensation. Associated Press. Politico Florida. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Tampa Bay Times. Axios. Florida Phoenix. News Service of Florida. WUSF. Henry Mack III, an educational consultant, former Florida Department of Education chancellor and an ally of Gov. DeSantis, was chosen by Broward College trustees Tuesday as acting president. The former administrator with the college will be able to apply for the permanent job to replace Gregory Haile, who resigned last month. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. WLRN.
Gender achievement gap: Boys continue to lag behind girls in English language proficiency in elementary and middle school, according to new research from the Helios Education Foundation and WestEd. About 57 percent of white boys show language arts proficiency by 6th grade, which is about 10 percentage points behind girls. About 30 percent of black boys are considered proficient, which is about 13 percentage points behind black girls. Florida Politics.
Opinions on schools: We have passed the expiration date of this experiment which diverts taxpayer dollars from an overburdened, under-resourced public school system to an unaccountable system of private schools, often run by for-profit corporations. The 3 million children in Florida’s public schools deserve better, as do the communities and citizens of Florida. Florida Education Association president Andrew Spar, Orlando Sentinel. This year’s results on the SAT show that Florida high school students are weak in math. The solution is clear – do whatever it takes to attract more individuals who are strong in math to join Florida’s teaching corps. But whether our state’s leaders have the will to do that is, unfortunately, doubtful. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow. The idea that student loans are a path to financial doom is simply not true. If the prevailing narrative deters students from pursuing degrees, we risk creating a generation hampered by lack of access to education and innovation, and a noncompetitive, less educated workforce than our global economic competitors. Arthur Keiser, Palm Beach Post.
