Around the state: Gov. Ron DeSantis has declined an invitation to address a House committee that’s exploring ways to cut property taxes, the state is asking a federal court to overturn an injunction against a 2023 state law that restricts ties between state universities and China, Monroe County’s school board chooses a new superintendent, a Columbia County 3rd-grade teacher and a Union County high school teacher are chosen as finalists for the state’s teacher of the year award, and the high school graduation season is underway. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: The former athletic director at the Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores will spend a year in jail as part of a plea deal to a charge of offense against a student by an authority figure. Jose Glen Rodriguez-Vazquez, 34, was arrested in 2023 and accused of sexually abusing a student. Miami Herald. WPLG. WTVJ.
Palm Beach: Graduation ceremonies were held this week for John I. Leonard, Wellington, Inlet Grove and Royal Palm Beach community high schools. Palm Beach Post.
Lee: Construction has begun on a school that was seriously damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Elementary Middle School in Cape Coral had its roof torn off, suffered flooded hallways and more. District officials said it is expected to reopen in the fall of 2026. Fort Myers News-Press. WFTX.
Osceola: Work has begun on the two-phase, $59 million rebuild of Reedy Creek Elementary School in the Poinciana neighborhood in Kissimmee. Completion is expected in the fall of 2026, and the expanded school will accommodate up to 950 students, up from the current 820. Spectrum News 13. WKMG.
Brevard: Satellite High School teachers were “influencing and grooming” a student to change genders by calling them by their preferred name, the parent of the student charged, according to school documents and correspondence. One of those teachers, Melissa Calhoun, had her contract terminated. Florida Today. WKMG. The headmaster of a private school in Titusville has resigned after school and church leaders discovered he had hired a registered sex offender to do maintenance work. Park Avenue Christian Academy’s Brian McKinney told one parent that Colby Ammons was a “reborn Christian man.” WFTV.
Manatee: Seniors from Lakewood Ranch and Braden River high schools collected their diplomas in graduation ceremonies Wednesday. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Collier: Some parents are protesting the school board’s approval of a high school biology textbook for the 2025-2026 school year. They contend that sections on evolution, climate change, COVID-19, and masking wrongly accept political ideology as fact. WBBH.
Sarasota: Heidi Brandt, the vice president of the Republican Women’s Club of Sarasota, has announced she will run in 2026 for the District 1 school board seat currently held by Bridget Ziegler, who has yet to say if she’ll seek another term. Florida Politics.
Leon: Tallahassee Collegiate Academy’s inaugural graduating class received diplomas in a ceremony this week. WCTV.
Bay: School board members have approved a one-year, $88,000 contract to use Magic School AI to help teachers generate lesson plans and parent communications. The company was recommended by the district’s artificial intelligence committee. “It will be a year-long process. So we’re going to start at the teacher level and really train teachers in understanding what AI is … so it’ll make them feel more comfortable with AI and having their students use those tools,” said instructional tech and media resources supervisor Susan Tierney. WMBB.
Martin: The Salerno Colored School will get a marker this weekend designating it as a state historical site. The school opened in 1934 for black students who weren’t allowed to attend white schools. It was badly damaged by several hurricanes about 20 years ago and was relocated several times before ending up in New Monrovia Park in 1980. It deteriorated and was recommended to be torn down, but was saved and renovated. Leaders in the black community are lobbying for it to become a museum and cultural center. TCPalm. WPTV.
Charlotte: Diplomas were handed out this week to graduates from The Academy in Port Charlotte. Charlotte Sun.
Flagler: A $23 million expansion of Matanzas High School was officially opened this week. Building 5 grew by 20,000 square feet with new classrooms and new media center, and renovations were made to the school’s previously existing 11,000 square feet. It was the district’s largest capital project in 15 years. Flagler Live.
Columbia, Union: Shelly Teel, a 3rd-grade teacher at Westside Elementary School in Columbia County, and Mark Harrison, an economics and American government teacher at Union County High School, have been chosen as two of the five finalists for the state’s 2026 teacher of the year award. The winner will be announced in July. Florida Department of Education.
Monroe: School board members have chosen Edward Tierney as the new school superintendent. He is currently the deputy superintendent/chief of schools for the Palm Beach County School District. If the board can reach a contract agreement with Tierney, he will succeed the retiring Theresa Axford. Key West Citizen.
Levy: A marine animal conservation educational program developed by the University of Florida College of Education, the UF Marine Animal Rescue Program and Cedar Key Dolphin Project has been educating 14 county middle and high school students since January. “We want to empower (students) to use science and marine science knowledge to effect change locally, but we also want them to be able to stay locally and have their careers there, if they so choose,” said UF’s Julie Brown, the project director for the program. Mainstreet Daily News.
Colleges and universities: State officials are asking a federal appeals court to overturn a preliminary injunction blocking part of a 2023 law that restricts ties between state universities and China. Those judges said federal laws, not the state’s, govern such immigration and national security issues. News Service of Florida. A new filing in a class-action lawsuit against the University of South Florida alleges the school charged students a remote learning fee during the pandemic that made up for the loss of other fees the school waived. Tampa Bay Times.
DeSantis rejects invite: Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected an invitation to speak to the House committee that is looking at ways to cut property taxes. “No, I’m not going to go sit in front of a committee,” he said. “That’s not the role of the chief executive.” DeSantis has already suggested trimming $1,000 off homeowners’ property taxes for the next fiscal year, a proposal that House Speaker Daniel Perez has called “irresponsible.” Perez favors cutting the state sales tax, which the governor has rejected. The dispute over how to cut taxes is a significant factor in the breakdown of state budget talks between the Senate and the House, and caused the legislative session to run past its scheduled May 2 end date. WUSF. Florida Politics. Obscured in the battle over how to cut taxes are economic forecasts that the state faces a budget deficit of $2.8 billion next year if government spending continues at its current level. USA Today Florida Network.
Around the nation: Charter school operators and advocates are cheered by the Trump administration’s budget proposal to boost spending for charters by $60 million even as they worry that the Supreme Court could rule in an Oklahoma case that charters are private schools and can teach religion. Naomi Shelton, CEO of the National Charter Collaborative, said the funding increase “signals that this administration sees the value of charters in the broader education landscape.” But she added that the extra money won’t matter “if charter schools lose their public identity.” The 74.
Opinions on schools: Florida needs to go big by committing itself to a program of recruiting individuals who are strong in math themselves into the teaching profession and then making life in the profession attractive enough to retain these individuals. That is difficult and expensive. But nothing short of such a plan holds any promise for significantly improving the math learning of Florida’s students. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow.
