Around the state: Florida’s Board of Governors approves state universities’ college spending plans that now go to the Legislature for consideration, including New College’s request for an extra $15 million to carry out its strategic plan, six more Duval County elementary schools are added to a list of schools that could be consolidated to save money, Flagler’s school board narrowly votes to mandate electrocardiogram tests for student-athletes, DeSoto’s school board is considering building affordable housing for teachers in Arcadia, and Leon County’s sheriff, superintendent and school board members will hold a series of meetings with students to discuss their safety concerns. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: A former teacher at the Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, a Catholic high school in Hollywood, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison this week after pleading guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old student. Boris Fernando Bastidas, 35, was arrested in March. He had been the chair of the social studies department and was named educator of the year in 2023. WTVJ.
Hillsborough: School officials held the first of five community meetings Wednesday to explain why they’re asking voters on Nov. 5 to approve an extra 1 mill of property taxes. Hillsborough’s is the only school district in the Tampa Bay area without the additional millage, and district officials say it’s contributing to a shortage of teachers and other critical school employees. If the tax is approved, teachers and administrators would be paid an extra $6,000 a year, and support staff an extra $3,000. Other meetings are scheduled Monday, Tuesday, Sept. 30 and Oct. 21. WTVT. WFTS.
Duval: Six more elementary schools have been added to a list of schools that could be consolidated as part of the district’s master facilities plan to save money. It would merge Annie R. Morgan into Biltmore, Kings Trail into Beauclerc, Don Brewer into Merrill Road, Susie Tolbert into S.P. Livingston, George Washington Carver into Rufus E. Payne, and Hidden Oaks into Cedar Hills. Superintendent Christopher Bernier told the school board this week that the district is close to finalizing a plan to present to the board. WTLV. Bernier also said this week that he wants to revive a plan to consider selling the district’s riverfront administrative offices and find another headquarters. Florida Times-Union.
Polk: The McLaughlin Academy of Excellence in Lake Wales said it is discontinuing its program for students with disabilities in grades 6-10 to help care for animals on the school’s farm. The decision was made out of concerns for student safety and the health of the animals, said school officials, who added that those students will still have opportunities to interact with animals as part of the on-campus agriculture program. Lakeland Ledger.
Lee: School superintendent candidates Denise Carlin, a retired educator with 32 years of experience in the district, and attorney Victor Arias discussed their positions on such issues as teacher pay, school safety and security, politics in the classroom and more. The election is Nov. 5. WINK.
Escambia: Two school district employees have been arrested and accused of interfering with the custody of a minor. Arielle Rice, 33, and Ashley Anderson, 32, were also accused of failure to report child abuse and obstructing law enforcement when they hid a 14-year-old girl from her parents, but those charges were dropped. Both were suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. WEAR.
Leon: County Sheriff Walt McNeil, school Superintendent Rocky Hanna and school board members are meeting with students from several schools over the next week to get their concerns about school safety. The “safety tour” is prompted by the slew of recent school threats and the arrests of six students since schools opened a little over a month ago. Tallahassee Democrat. WCTV.
Alachua: A contract to hire a school rezoning consultant was rejected this week by school board members who didn’t like the projected timeline, the $237,000 cost or the lack of specific details. Staff members were asked to look for other options. Mainstreet Daily News. Newberry city officials continue to work with the state on the application to turn Newberry Elementary School into a charter school, and have also formed a school board that expects to enter into a contract soon with an unnamed nonprofit charter school company. Mainstreet Daily News. A former physical education teacher and coach at St. Patrick Interparish School in Gainesville has been sentenced to five years of probation after pleading no contest to charges of felony battery as a repeat offender and an authority figure soliciting/engaging in a romantic relationship. Christopher Charles Chell, 46, had been accused of inappropriately touching 6th-graders at the school. Gainesville Sun.
Flagler: Student-athletes will be required to have an electrocardiogram during her or his four-year high school career, the school board decided Thursday in a 3-2 vote. The test of the heart can detect abnormalities and heart conditions, and will be part of a free physical exam offered by the district. “The idea that we would even question a policy that could possibly save the life of a student — this isn’t vaccines,” said board member Colleen Conklin. “These aren’t masks. This is noninvasive. It is potentially saving a child’s life.” Spectrum News 13.
Walton: The school district’s decision a year ago to hire its own athletic trainers hasn’t worked out as it hoped. Only one trainer has been hired. “We’re trying to get an athletic trainer at every school, and right now we’re kind of calling this an athletic trainer desert where we can’t find those who want to come to a school district and serve,” said Superintendent Russell Hughes. “We’ve advertised it almost a year, I do believe, and gotten one.” WMBB.
DeSoto: District officials are considering transforming 6 acres of land in Arcadia into an affordable housing complex for teachers and other school staff. The plan would put 72 apartments near Nocatee Elementary School, with rent ranging from $750 to $1,400. “We really just want to have housing that we can take care of our school district employees that are in need of it, and then open it up to first responders,” said Superintendent Bobby Bennett. WFTX.
Colleges and universities: A Florida Gulf Coast University student who was disciplined for sexual harassment and filed a lawsuit against the school cannot remain anonymous, a federal appeals court decided Wednesday. News Service of Florida. Black student enrollment at the University of Miami is down from 9 percent last year to 5 percent this year, school data shows. This is the first class to enter college since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 against race-based admission policies. WLRN. A rendering of the football stadium that will be built on the University of South Florida’s campus shows an 8,000-seat section for students. Tampa Bay Times. WFTS. The University of Florida is the seventh-best college in America in value, according to rankings published by the Wall Street Journal. Florida State was 13th, Florida International 24th, Florida Atlantic 40th, University of South Florida 45th, University of North Florida 47th, and University of Central Florida 55th. Gainesville Sun. Florida State College at Jacksonville is asking the public to suggest a name for its new manta ray mascot. Jacksonville Today. WJAX.
Florida BOG: Florida’s Board of Governors has backed budget requests university leaders are making of the Legislature during its session next spring. Schools are asking for $400 million to make building repairs and renovations, another $50 million for performance awards, $40 million more for the state’s four top-ranked research schools, $21 million more for the “buy-one-get-one” tuition waiver to convince students to take high-demand course, and $600,000 for new staff to help manage the university system. Politico Florida. At least one board member did question New College of Florida’s request for an additional $15 million, noting that the school’s $98,000-per-student cost is nearly 10 times the average across the state system and that a third of its enrollment is made up of student-athletes. But the request and the school’s strategic plans were approved by the BOG. News Service of Florida. Florida Phoenix. The BOG also praised Florida A&M University trustees for “moving swiftly” to deal with the fallout from a $237 million donation that was later deemed fraudulent. Also approved were the appointments of Timothy Beard as the temporary leader at FAMU and Kent Fuchs as interim president of the University of Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.
School threats: Sheriffs and school officials from around the state say the number of threats being made against schools “is absolutely out of control.” Many districts have turned to metal detectors to catch weapons, and sheriffs are ratcheting up the consequences on offenders, even pre-teenagers. Politico Florida. Education Week. School threats continued around the state Wednesday. Pasco. Volusia. Manatee. St. Lucie. Sarasota. Alachua. Putnam.
