Around the state: Escambia’s school board gives the superintendent the authority to remove books without review, Santa Rosa’s board removes six books “as per the Florida Board of Education” and the St. Johns board places restrictions on three books, Florida A&M students and alumni are asking a court for an injunction to stop the Board of Governors from confirming Marva Johnson as the school’s new president, a new policy in Indian River County allows the school board chair to remove public speakers for profanity, threats or repetition, and a nonprofit watchdog group urges Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto university projects and other initiatives totaling $416.5 million from the just-approved state budget. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: A proposal to fire the school district’s chief auditor was resoundingly rejected Tuesday by the school board. Allen Zeman made the motion, but none of his eight colleagues joined him in voting to dismiss Dave Rhodes. “It’s a bad idea for someone who has received an overall effective evaluation to turn around and bring up an item to fire him,” said board chair Debbi Hixon. “Who would want to work here if this is how we treat employees?” Zeman said Rhodes hasn’t completed audits in a timely manner and that they also contained inaccuracies. Sun Sentinel. WLRN.
Pasco: New principals have been appointed at eight more district schools, bringing the total so far for next fall to 17 leadership changes out of 89 schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Manatee: Two mothers say they intend to sue the school district over the alleged sexual misconduct of teachers at Haile Middle School and Gullett Elementary. They contend the district was negligent and violated their children’s civil and constitutional rights. Superintendent Jason Wysong was fired by the school board in May for his response to the incidents. WTSP. WWSB.
St. Johns: Restrictions have been placed on three books in school libraries by school board members. Check & Mate and Monday’s Not Coming are being removed from middle schools and will be available only for high school students who have parental permission to check them out. out of middle schools and restrict them to only 9th through 12th grade, with parents’ permission to check out. There is Someone Inside Your House is now available only to only high school seniors, also with parental permission. School board members also said they would review their process for restricting books before the start of the next school year. WJAX. USA Today Florida Network.
Escambia, Santa Rosa: Escambia school board members decided Tuesday to give the superintendent the authority, without review, to remove every book targeted by the state for “pornographic” content. The board also voted to remove 18 books that had been pulled aside for review, and pause the purchase of new books until it creates a process to better screen objectionable content. Santa Rosa’s school board also removed six books “per the Florida Board of Education.” WEAR. USA Today Florida Network. Construction is scheduled to begin next month on a $20 million auditorium at Escambia High School in Myrtle Grove. It will include seating for 800, a recording studio and space for a visual arts gallery, and is expected to be completed in 16 months. Pensacola News Journal.
Indian River: Speakers who use profanity, make a “true threat” or are repetitive at school board meetings can be removed by the board chair under a new policy approved unanimously by the board this week. Speakers who violate the new rules can be asked to leave, or be removed. TCPalm.
University leadership: Florida A&M University students and alumni are asking a court for an emergency injunction to stop the Board of Governors’ confirmation vote today on Marva Johnson’s nomination to the presidency. The suit says the selection of Johnson was politically driven and predetermined, and asks for an investigation of the select process. WCTV. Tallahassee Democrat. In addition to the vote on FAMU’s Johnson, the BOG is scheduled to vote on the appointments of Jeanette Nunez as president at Florida International University and Manny Diaz as interim president of the University of West Florida. Florida Board of Governors. WTXL. Eric Hall, a former senior chancellor at the Florida Department of Education and the interim president of Pasco-Hernando State College since May, was named the president of the school Tuesday by trustees. Tampa Bay Times.
No change in museum control: A proposed transfer of control of Sarasota’s John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art from Florida State University to New College of Florida was excluded from the new state budget. FSU has managed the museum since 2000. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Budget ‘turkeys’ flagged: Florida TaxWatch’s annual “turkey watch report” is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto 242 provisions totaling $416.5 million from the just-approved budget. Among the cuts suggested by the nonprofit government watchdog are 18 major projects at colleges and universities, and several others related to education. USA Today Florida Network. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics.
Cell phone survey says: A recent survey of 1,500 11- to 13-year-old students by University of South Florida researchers revealed that 31% of the students felt relieved when they can’t use their cell phones and 34% agreed that social media does more harm than good. But the survey also suggests that school phone bans don’t prevent cyberbullying or will improve students’ mental health problems or poor academic performance. WLRN.
Opinions on schools: Vouchers, education savings accounts and tax credits — once vilified by Democrats as betrayals of public education — are now part of their reform agenda. Corey DeAngelis, Inside Sources. Online safety of our children cannot be achieved through filters and parental controls alone. That’s why it’s more important than ever for parents and caregivers to educate themselves so we can empower our children to navigate the online world safely and confidently. Lauren Book, Tampa Bay Times.
