Around the state: A final handful of school districts are closed today but expected to open tomorrow as life in Florida is slowly returning to a semblance of normality after two major hurricanes hit the state in three weeks, making up instruction time lost to the storm is being discussed in several districts, the FHSAA is making changes in the fall sports season after the storms have canceled games, the number of book challenges in Florida school and public libraries is down significantly in 2024 compared to 2023, and a soon-to-be Duval school board member is among elected officials promoting theories that the federal government controls hurricanes. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward, south Florida: Broward school board members meet today to discuss whether makeup days will be needed for instruction time lost during hurricanes Helene and Milton. The district lost one day to Helene and two days to Milton. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach school officials have said they don’t expect the state to require them to schedule extra time, even though Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said the state is unlikely to waive any of the required instructional hours. Sun Sentinel.
Hillsborough: Schools are closed again today, but district officials said Monday they hope to reopen Wednesday for students. More than 100 schools remain without power after Hurricane Milton hit the area last week, and other issues include standing water in about a dozen schools, delays in food deliveries, road hazards and traffic signal outages. District spokeswoman Tanya Arja said it’s too early to know how many missed days will have to be made up and when. Tampa Bay Times. WTVT. WFLA.
Duval: Tony Ricardo, elected in August to join the school board next month with 53 percent of the vote, has been among elected officials who have been promoting the idea that the federal government is controlling the weather, including the recent hurricanes. He has shared debunked theories and videos about the weather on social media, but has declined to discuss his beliefs with a news organization. Jacksonville Today.
Pinellas: With some schools still without power and more cleanup work from the storm left to do, today will be another day off for Pinellas students, district officials announced Monday. They also said their goal was to resume classes Wednesday. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA. WTVT.
Pasco: Classes at district schools resume Wednesday, Superintendent Kurt Browning said Monday. He said damages were minimal, and power is expected to be restored to all schools by today. There are still some roads blocked, he added, but bus routes will be revised to avoid them. “We need to get kids back in school,” Browning said. “They need their routine. We provide that.” Tampa Bay Times. Suncoast News.
Volusia: County buses will be used to transport students who normally walk to and from DeLand Middle School today and Wednesday. School officials, Volusia County and the city of DeLand decided they didn’t want students exposed to standing water potentially contaminated with sewage, fertilizers and other hazardous materials. If the floodwaters don’t recede sufficiently, the transportation arrangement is likely to be continued after Wednesday. Spectrum News 13. WOFL.
Manatee, Sarasota: Manatee County public schools are reopening today, district officials said Monday. All schools have power, and the 17 schools that served as hurricane shelters have been cleaned. But, district officials warned parents, “reopening schools … will not be without challenges. We ask that you and your students approach the reopening of school … as if it were the first day of school. The timing of bus routes could be delayed and there could be unexpected outages of power or air-conditioning at various times and schools.” Sarasota County students resume classes Wednesday. WWSB. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. WFLA.
Collier: Schools reopened Monday, but students at Barron Collier High and Osceola Elementary were sent home early when the power failed. District officials said power has been restored and both schools are expected to open today. Naples Daily News.
St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River: Officials in all three school districts are consulting with state officials to see how much missed classroom time will have to be made up because of the two hurricanes. Martin students missed one day of classes for Hurricane Helene and three days for Milton, while St. Lucie and Indian River students missed a day during Helene and four days for Milton. TCPalm. WPTV.
Leon: School board member Alva Smith is organizing a fund-raiser to address what she calls a “book disparity” between Title I elementary schools and those in more affluent areas of the county. It begins Wednesday and continues through Nov. 30. “By donating a new book, each of us contributes to a child’s educational journey, opening doors to knowledge, imagination, and a brighter future,” Smith said. “These donations will create lasting resources that empower our students and strengthen our community.” Tallahassee Democrat. WTXL.
Alachua: A decline in the district’s financial reserves drew the concern of school board members at a workshop meeting. The board’s policy requires a 5 percent fund balance in reserve, while the state requires 3 percent. The budget approved last month projects the reserve at 4.44 percent. “I need to know what the plan is, and I feel like some sort of plan should’ve been brought today with this 4.44 percent number, said board member Sarah Rockwell. Mainstreet Daily News.
Citrus: Instructional time lost when schools were closed for hurricanes Helene and Milton will be made up Monday, Oct. 21; Monday, Nov. 11; and Friday, Dec. 20, district officials announced Monday. “We recognize that Oct. 21 was originally scheduled as fall break, and Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. However, we must meet the state’s instructional hour requirements for the year,” the district said in a statement. “Please know that we deeply value our veterans, and we plan to honor them in meaningful ways in our schools on Nov. 11.” Citrus County Chronicle. WTSP.
Flagler: District students will have to make up just one of the five days of instruction lost when schools closed for hurricanes Helene and Milton, school board members tentatively agreed at a meeting Monday. Changes include an Oct. 18 end to the first quarter. The second quarter will run from Oct. 21 to Jan. 10 instead of Oct. 15-Dec. 20, and the third quarter from Jan. 13 through May 29. Flagler Live. School board members rejected a developer’s proposal to buy a 7.2-acre site and build a specialty shopping center. The district bought the land for $3.5 million and in 2016, demolished the building on it. Flagler Live.
Colleges and universities: Campuses around the state are starting to reopen after closing for Hurricane Milton. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF. Central Florida Public Media. Ground-breaking for the new on-campus football stadium at the University of South Florida has been rescheduled to Nov. 8, a day before the homecoming game against Navy. Tampa Bay Times. Florida Politics. About 28 percent of high school seniors have ruled out colleges because of the politics, policies or legal situations in the states where the colleges are, according to a new survey from the higher education consulting firm Art & Science Group. Forbes. Florida has three universities ranked in the top 20 in the South by the personal finance company WalletHub: University of Florida 5th, Florida State University 10th, and the University of Miami 18th. WKMG.
Book bans in schools: The number of challenges to books in Florida school and public libraries is down significantly in 2024, according to a new report by the American Library Association. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 in 2023, 852 titles were challenged in the state. This year, in the same time frame, there have been 80. Florida Politics.
Football season extended: The Florida High School Athletic Association has extended the regular football season for a week after two hurricanes since late September disrupted schedules. The final week now starts Nov. 7, with the playoffs starting the following week and concluding Dec. 11-14. The FHSAA also is offering flexible district tournament dates for girls volleyball, and waiving minimum contest requirements for bowling, cross country, golf, and swimming and diving. Palm Beach Post. WCTV. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. FHSAA.
Opinions on schools: The fact that we are discussing whether meteorologists created and steered Hurricane Helene is yet another manifestation of the demonization of expertise that our society has experienced during the last few decades. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow. How far off-track has New College wandered? It’s invited Steve Sailer, a “eugenico” who believes black people are genetically inferior to whites, interracial marriage is wrong and “core Americans” are by definition white, has been invited to speak at one of the college’s “Socratic Stage Dialogues.” Diane Roberts, Florida Phoenix.
