Around the state: Broward's superintendent says enrollment has dropped by 10,000 and the district faces an $85 million budget deficit, Pinellas school officials are considering using artificial intelligence-enabled weapons-detection systems at schools, University of Florida trustees vote unanimously to accept the recommendation of Moez Limayem to be the school's president, and a bill is filed that would outlaw discrimination in schools against hairstyles that are historically associated with race. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: Superintendent Howard Hepburn said Tuesday that the district's enrollment has declined by 10,000 students this year, leading to an $85 million budget deficit. One of the suggestions to cut spending is to consider expanding the district police force instead of contracting with outside law enforcement agencies, an expense that Hepburn said is ballooning out of control. Other ideas include layoffs, school closures, reducing overtime, and more. WFOR. WPLG. An assistant athletic director at Highland Christian Academy, a private school in Deerfield Beach, has been arrested and accused of engaging in sexual conduct with two students. School officials said Ronison Exavier, 24, has been fired. WPLG. WTVJ. WFOR.
Orange: Two charter school companies have announced plans to open schools in the district under the state's Schools of Hope law, which allows select charter firms to move into unused space in district schools. Texas-based KIPP Team and Family charter school company wants to move into a half-empty campus in Pine Hills, and Miami-based Mater Academy wants a part of Ridgewood Park Elementary. Both said they want to pull students from nearby public schools that are underenrolled. Orlando Sentinel. A Horizon High School teacher who was ordered to remove a poster of Charlie Kirk has been permitted to display it again. William Loggans filed a grievance over the action, which principal Andrew Jackson rescinded after reviewing the grievance and hearing Loggans' explanation for its use. WKMG. A teacher at Water Spring Elementary has been placed on administrative leave after being arrested last week during a domestic dispute. Police said Tina Will, 50, was arguing with his husband when the dispute escalated and she attacked him. WKMG.
Pinellas: District officials are considering using artificial intelligence-enabled weapons-detection systems. If the proposal is approved, two schools would be chosen next spring for a test of the process. Tampa Bay Times. WTSP. WFTS. About 600 high school seniors have been warned by district officials that they are not on track to earn a diploma and participate in graduation ceremonies next spring. Legislators ended the issuance of certificates of completion for those students who don't complete graduation requirements for credits, grade point and test scores. Tampa Bay Times.
St. Lucie: Twenty-two more bilingual instructors are needed to handle the growth of students in the district's English for Speakers of Other Languages program. Enrollment is up 10% since September 2024, leaving the district short by 22 ESOL positions: 17 for students speaking Haitian Creole and five for Spanish speakers. "Our babies are struggling," said ESOL coordinator Aleida Trinidad. TCPalm.
Sarasota: Superintendent Terry Connor's proposal to move Suncoast Polytechnical High School, which has 540 students, to Brookside Middle, which is at 45% capacity, drew a mostly negative response at a town hall meeting this week. The move would create the Suncoast Polytechnical High School and Secondary School, serving grades 6-12, in the fall of 2026. WUSF. WWSB. At the first school board meeting held since the board decided to begin at 10 a.m., residents showed up at the gathering to voice their disapproval of the change. Deb Hayes of Sarasota called the board majority "tone-deaf" to the needs of the community. Mary Ganley added, "These meetings aren’t supposed to be at your convenience." Board members tentatively approved a proposal to hold an invocation before meetings. Charlotte Sun.
Escambia: Implementation of a new drug diversion program is being considered for Pensacola, Escambia and Northview high school students. The Hope Above Fear program is an eight-week course offered to first-time drug offenders and stresses education and accountability over removal from school. Pensacola News Journal.
Martin: An administrative hearing will be scheduled for a judge to consider the case of Matthew Theobald, a teacher and president of the teachers union who was suspended without pay after calling the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk a "racist, misogynistic, fear-mongering neo-Nazi" on Facebook. No date for the hearing was set. WPTV.
Colleges and universities: University of North Florida President Moez Limayem was unanimously accepted Tuesday by the University of South Florida trustees as the school's ninth president. Florida's Board of Governors also has to confirm the appointment, which it's expected to do at its Nov. 6 meeting. Politico Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Florida Phoenix. WTSP. WFTS. Spectrum News 9. Jacksonville University President Tim Cost said he will step down next July to become chancellor of the school. Cost has led the school since February 2013. Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville Today. WJXT.
In the Legislature: Discrimination in schools based on hairstyles would be prohibited under a bill filed for the legislative session that starts Jan. 13. SB 252, which was filed by state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, would modify three existing statues to define a "protected hairstyle" with hair characteristics such as Afros and dreadlocks that are historically associated with race. Florida Politics. WCTV.
Opinions on schools: The solution to the mess that New College has become is fundamental to the conservative soul: privatize it. Let New College compete in the market instead of insulating itself from reality by gorging at the trough of taxpayer funds. Nathan Allen, Tampa Bay Times. Some critics allege that New College enrollments, retention and graduation rates and academic quality have "plummeted" since the new administration took office. The data show a more complex picture. New College history professor David Allen Harvey, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
