Around the state: Pasco’s school board unanimously votes to merge three underenrolled schools into one K-8 school starting in 2025, Broward board members approve three LGBTQ-related resolutions for this school year despite some opposition, University of South Florida trustees approve a $282,000 raise and $300,000 bonus for President Rhea Law, some Indian River school board members balk at a proposal to change the makeup of a committee working to close the achievement gap between black and white students, and Escambia schools have canceled today’s after-school activities and events because of Hurricane Francine. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: Resolutions celebrating LGBTQ events in three different months were approved by the school board Tuesday on a 6-3 vote. The board approved 96 resolutions, but the three LGBTQ-related ones drew opposition among members and speakers. LGBTQIA+ History Month will be marked in October, National Day of Silence for victims of LGBTQ bullying in April and Pride Month in June. Some speakers at the meeting praised the board for supporting diversity and at-risk youth, but others called the resolutions “indoctrination,” “gender ideology” and supportive of “transitioning children.” Sun Sentinel. Broward voters will be asked Nov. 5 to expand the authority of the county inspector general to include oversight of school board operations. WSVN.
Orange: District teachers are speaking out about the air-conditioning problems they have in their classrooms. “We have photos being sent to us of classrooms that are over 85 degrees. There’s testing happening on days where air-conditioning is not working,” said teachers union president Clinton McCracken. “Recent laws state that doors can’t be popped open in many classrooms, and windows can’t even open, so this is a safety concern.” District officials released a statement saying, in part, “Preventative maintenance is continuously performed on school systems. As with any mechanical equipment, breakdowns do occur.” WOFL. WFTV.
Pasco: Three underenrolled New Port Richey schools will be merged into a single K-8 school in August 2025, school board members unanimously decided Tuesday night. Calusa Elementary, Chasco Elementary and Chasco Middle will be combined on the Chasco campus, saving the district money by eliminating redundant positions. “I see this as an opportunity for us to bring a K-8 … to west Pasco in an area that we’re not really going to see a new school going up,” said board member Cynthia Armstrong. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA.
Collier: County Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier has launched the 11th annual competition among district high schools to see which one can register or preregister the most students to vote. An average of about 1,000 students sign up to vote every year during the drive, including 16- and 17-year-olds who preregister. The school with the highest total receives a plaque. WGCU. A 13-year-old Manatee Middle School student was arrested Tuesday when school officials found a knife in his backpack. No one was threatened or injured, they said. WINK. WFTX.
St. Lucie: A crackdown on drivers speeding through school zones in Port St. Lucie caught a school bus driver Tuesday. Police said the driver was clocked at 37 mph in a 20 mph speed zone, and was given a ticket. WPEC.
Escambia: All school district practices, games and extracurricular activities for this afternoon and evening have been canceled due to the potential for severe weather caused by Hurricane Francine, which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana late today. District officials said they were acting in an abundance of caution and after consulting with the county’s Emergency Operations Center. Pensacola News Journal. WEAR.
Leon: The achievements of three Title I district schools were celebrated Tuesday with a party and a parade. For the first time, Nims Middle School received a B grade from the state, while Bond Elementary also earned a B and Pineview Elementary was awarded an A. “Not one school but three schools had a record-breaking year,” Nims principal Benny Bolden told the crowd. Eight of the district’s 20 Title I schools improved their grades from the state this year. Tallahassee Democrat.
Bay: A $660 million budget was approved Tuesday by the school board, a slight decline from last year’s spending. Most of the money is going into the general fund ($348 million) for salaries, benefits and other operating expenses, and to capital projects ($190 million) to build and renovate schools and buy buses. WJHG.
Indian River: School board members expressed concern this week about changing a committee charged with closing the achievement gap between white and black students, as proposed by board member Kevin McDonald. Making the change would require rewriting a policy adopted in 2022 that created a committee of NAACP and school district representatives to study the achievement gap for at least five years after the district achieves unitary status from a 1964 federal desegregation order. McDonald is proposing a new committee with no NAACP representation. Four of five board members would have to agree to change the policy. The issue is scheduled for further discussion Sept. 23. TCPalm. WPTV.
Sumter: A center to provide specialized education for autistic K-5 students is being opened in January by the Villages Charter School. The school was inspired by the Tri-County Autism Community founded by Lindsey and Bryn Blaise after their son was diagnosed with autism about five years ago. Villages Daily Sun.
Highlands: The union representing the school district’s support employees won a preliminary vote of support last week allowing it to continue its work through Jan. 25, 2025. At that time, it will have to show that 60 percent of its eligible members are paying dues in order to remain certified. Highlands News-Sun.
Colleges and universities: University of South Florida trustees have approved a $282,000-a-year pay raise and $300,000 performance bonus for President Rhea Law. Her base pay is now $825,000 and the cap for her performance bonuses went up to $412,500. Meanwhile, members of the faculty are asking for a raise of 7 to 9 percent in contract negotiations, while USF is offering 3 percent. Tampa Bay Times. USF Oracle. Three more University of Florida students arrested in April during pro-Palestinian protests have accepted plea deals in exchange for small fines and no jail time. All three are banned from campus for three years. Fresh Take Florida. A former member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at Florida State University has been sentenced to a month in jail after a hazing ritual in 2018 left a schoolmate unconscious and with a skull fracture and brain bleeds. Tallahassee Democrat.
School threats continue: Florida school districts and law enforcement agencies are continuing to report more threats being made against schools since last week’s shooting at a Georgia high school killed four people. Sarasota. Broward. Columbia. Volusia. Pasco. Holmes. Taylor. Leon.
Education in the courts: Arguments are scheduled the week of Dec. 16 in a challenge from several states, including Florida, to a new federal rule that would extend protection against discrimination in schools under Title IX to include gender identity. Last summer a court rejected the states’ request for a preliminary injunction against the rule, although a panel of the court agreed in August to block the rule from taking effect during the appeals process. News Service of Florida.
Education at the debate: Among the topics that did not come up during Tuesday’s debate between presidential nominees Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and Republican Donald Trump were school safety and security, recovering K-12 students’ learning lost during the pandemic, school choice, the cost of college, the proposal to close the U.S. Department of Education, and more. Brief mentions were made of expanding the child tax credit and the Biden administration’s efforts to forgive student loans. Chalkbeat.
Around the nation: Most Barrow County, Ga., students returned to classes Tuesday, nearly a week after a gunman shot and killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. No return date has been set for the 1,900 students at Apalachee. Associated Press.
Opinions on schools: Public education is in the early stages of transitioning from its second to third paradigm, in which government will regulate the public education market but will no longer be a monopoly provider. This shift in government’s role will require many operational changes. Doug Tuthill, NextSteps. I applaud New College’s aspiration to be the nation’s No. 1 liberal arts college, and I hope that comes to pass. Unfortunately, however, the overwhelming evidence suggests that New College’s approach over the past 18 months has only made it more difficult to ever reach that lofty goal. Felice Schulaner, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
