Around the state: Some Florida Democrats are asking the state for more detailed data about the students who receive scholarships under the universal voucher program, metal detectors going up in a Brevard school and Seminole parents want them too, Palm Beach voters will consider renewing a half-cent sales tax for schools on the Nov. 5 ballot, Pasco commissioners order the removal of 130 children’s books from libraries for review, DeSoto County schools will start a teaching apprenticeship program to address the teacher shortage, and Escambia is considering adding 6th grades to more elementary schools. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Orange: An elementary school closed since 2019 will be rebuilt into a facility for hospital homebound and special education transition programs. The $50.1 million school district project will replace the old Pine Castle Elementary School with the Esteem Academy. Construction is expected to start in June 2026 and be largely completed by June 2027. WFTV. Two Boone High School students were arrested Friday after police said a loaded handgun was found in one’s backpack. Police said a 17-year-old 10th-grader was carrying the gun for her boyfriend, a 19-year-old senior. Both were charged with possession of a firearm on a school campus, and the 19-year is also accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Orlando Sentinel. WESH. WKMG.
Palm Beach: A renewal of a half-cent sales tax for schools is on the ballot Nov. 5. First approved in 2016, the tax raises money for the school district to use for infrastructure upgrades, improving school security, buying buses and updating technology. It’s forecast to collect $2 billion over 10 years, and would go into effect in January 2026. Palm Beach Post. About 30 percent of the school district’s after-school care programs have waiting lists because of growing demand and a shortage of workers. Palm Beach Post. A 5-year-old Grove Park Elementary student who got on the wrong bus Friday was dropped off miles from his home. The school district is investigating how it happened. Fortunately, the mother of another student noticed the boy crying after getting off the bus, and called the school. WPEC.
Lee: A collision between a school bus and a dump truck Friday afternoon sent a child on the bus and a man in the truck to the hospital for treatment. Deputies said the truck ran into the back of the school bus, which had stopped at an intersection, and caused the bus’ back window to break. WBBH. WINK.
Pasco: More than 130 children’s books in public libraries have been ordered removed by county commissioners so they can be reviewed for what Commissioner Seth Weightman called “disturbing” content. Many of the books have LGBTQ characters and themes, and only one of them has been challenged by a county resident. “Why this is in our library is beyond me,” said Commissioner Jack Mariano. “This is absolutely horrendous.” One of the books is And Tango Makes Three, a story about two male penguins raising a chick in a zoo that was central to a lawsuit that Nassau County School Board members settled by returning it to school libraries. Tampa Bay Times.
Brevard: Melbourne High School will be the first district school to get new metal detectors next month. If the rollout is successful, all high schools are expected to have the detectors in place by the end of the school year. Some county private schools have been using detectors, and neighbor Osceola County has begun testing metal detectors as well. Orange County, however, rejected the same system, saying it was too expensive. WKMG. Florida Today.
Seminole: Parents of students have started a petition drive to pressure school officials to put metal detectors into district schools. More than 2,400 signatures have been collected. “Something needs to be in place because when these children make threats, you shouldn’t take it lightly,” said Lisa Clark, whose child goes to Lake Brantley High School. “They will act out on a threat as we saw this week, when one day someone made a threat and the next day they brought a gun.” District officials have not discussed adding metal detectors, which cost about $20,000 each. Spectrum News 13.
Manatee: A parent is suing the school board for $100,000 after three former employees of G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School allegedly tied her child to a chair during recess in February. The three were arrested and accused of child abuse. The lawsuit contends that the school district “failed to provide an education setting that was safe, secure and free of harassment” and failed in its “duty to hire, train and supervise personnel to properly care for the school children of Manatee County.” Bradenton Herald.
Sarasota: Superintendent Terry Connor has won converts during his first year in the job with an emphasis on improving literacy and collecting input from everyone before making decisions. “We only move at the speed of trust,” he says. Those listening and communications skills, and a 7-percentage-point increase in 3rd-grade reading levels, has led to good relations with the politically divided school board and the community, and a contract extension into 2029 for Connor. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Escambia: A pilot program to add 6th grades at Cordova Park and West Pensacola elementary schools has gone so well that the district plans to eventually expand it to all elementaries, starting with Longleaf. “We believe it is a good opportunity for a 6th-grader to extend that ‘elementary experience’ or have the option – depending upon their level of maturity, where they are academically or perhaps what their interests may be,” said Superintendent Keith Leonard. Seventh- and 8th-grades could then be added at Longleaf, he said. Pensacola News Journal. WEAR.
Alachua: A teacher at the Child Center for Early Learning was arrested last week and accused of abusing a 3-year-old student. Deputies said Keoni Ellis, 28, pinched the autistic boy in the groin, upper thigh and ear. She told deputies she had the mother’s permission to punish him by pinching him, according to the arrest report. WCJB.
Bay: Bay High School front office workers moved into a newly renovated space Friday. The offices were the first of a three-phase renovation; Phase 2 has begun on a wing of classrooms, and Phase 3 will be another wing of classes. The work is expected to take two years. WMBB.
Charlotte: Superintendent Mark Vianello is getting a raise after a year on the job. School board members approved a $25,000 increase last week that pushes Vianello’s annual pay to $205,000 a year. Board member Cara Reynolds noted that Vianello salary when hired was not competitive with similarly sized school districts, and said, “I don’t want to see him leave us.” Charlotte Sun.
DeSoto: A teaching apprenticeship program to address the district’s teacher shortage won the approval of the school board last week. DeSoto University is a two-year apprenticeship program for non-instructional staff with an associate’s degree to earn a receive a bachelor’s degree in elementary education through Lake Erie College. Volunteer mentors would be assigned to the new teachers, and be paid about $3,000. Charlotte Sun.
Colleges and universities: Florida Polytechnic University enrollment is up 10 percent from a year ago, to more than 1,770, school officials said last week. The school expects to expand to 3,000 students in the coming years. Lakeland Ledger. The University of South Florida in Tampa intends to develop its former golf course into a “pedestrian-friendly and accessible space” with new housing, dining options, retail stores, academic and research facilities and recreational and open spaces, says President Rhea Law. She also promised that the USF Forest Preserve will be maintained as is. WUSF.
Voucher budget data: Some Florida Democrats are asking for more information about the students who receive scholarships from the state. They want the Department of Education and Step Up for Students, which helps administer scholarships and hosts this blog, to provide demographic information about the students awarded scholarships, including scholarship type, school districts and the number of recipients who have never been in public school. Florida Phoenix.
More school threats: The number of threats being made against school districts in Florida and across the country has surged since a shooting at a Winder, Ga., high school killed four people Sept. 4. Hillsborough. Polk. Seminole. Volusia. Manatee. St. Johns. Marion. Escambia. Leon. Bay. Martin. Indian River. Charlotte. Highlands. Union. Even as arrests for having guns on school campuses have soared, Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show no one has been convicted of the offense in the past five years. WKMG.
