Around the state: Florida school districts’ reliance on local funding has grown 70 percent in the past decade and now represents 52 percent of all district revenues, a new free speech survey on Florida college campuses shows that 81 percent of students and 58 percent of faculty believe their university provides an “environment for free expression of ideas, opinions, and beliefs,” a candidate who lost a Flagler school board race in the August primary has been appointed by the governor to a different empty seat on the board, Sarasota schools raise their goals for state testing after already meeting the previous goals, and Florida International University’s football stadium will be named for rapper Pitbull. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Palm Beach: Applications can be submitted starting Monday for one of the district’s 340 choice programs at 182 schools. The deadline is Dec. 6 for certain arts schools that require auditions, and Jan. 31 for all others. Ten new programs are being offered, including pre-engineering, computer science, medical sciences, drafting and design, game simulation and animation programming. Palm Beach Post.
Pasco: Republicans have held the school superintendent’s office for 32 of the past 40 years, but political observers say no-party candidate Chris Dunning, a teacher and principal in the district for the past 30 years, is running a surprisingly strong race this year and has a chance against Republican John Legg. Legg is a former state representative and operates a charter school, but hasn’t been on a county ballot since 2012. Tampa Bay Times.
Volusia: District 4 school board incumbent Carl Persis will try to hold onto his seat in the Nov. 5 runoff against Donna Brosemer, who outpolled Persis in the August primary, 44 percent to 40 percent. Persis, a longtime educator who has been on the board since 2016, wants to improve school security and teacher pay and opposes book bans. Brosemer, a policy analyst endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is against sexually explicit books in schools, and for universal vouchers and improved student mental health services. Central Florida Public Media.
Collier: Friday’s paycheck will include the teacher raises recently agreed to by the union and the district. Starting pay jumps to $57,000 a year, the second highest among the state’s 67 districts, and the average teacher salary will go up to $74,271 with 90 percent of the district’s fulltime teachers making more than $60,000. WBBH.
Sarasota: Superintendent Terry Connor says the district is increasing its goals for state test scores because students have already exceeded the original goals. Results from the first Florida Assessment of Student Thinking assessment, which encompasses tests in reading, writing and math, have shown improvement across the board, and Connor said the goal is now to exceed last year’s 827-point score by 39 points. Charlotte Sun.
Martin: A former assistant police chief in Port St. Lucie has reached a plea deal on charges that he helped falsify records so football players who lived outside the Martin County High School zone could play on the team. William Vega pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted perjury by false written declaration. He will surrender his law enforcement certificate and pay the $40,000 cost of the investigation. WPTV. TCPalm.
Flagler: Derek Barrs, who lost a race for the District 3 school board seat to Janie Ruddy in the August primary, was appointed to the District 1 seat on the board Wednesday by Gov. DeSantis. Barrs, an associate vice president for HNTB Corp., replaces Sally Hunt, who resigned in September with two years remaining on her term. Board chair Will Furry said Barrs will be sworn in very soon. “I’m very pleased that the governor’s office did make the appointment prior to our reorganization so that we can start off as a full five-member board in the new school board year,” Furry said. Daytona Beach News-Journal. WESH.
Monroe: School board members were updated last week on the project to build affordable housing for school district workers in Key West. Integra Solutions, the contractor, said an eligibility income threshold of 30 percent of area median income could be included, and that the project is likely to require a comprehensive land use plan amendment from the city. Specific rents and utility costs will be discussed at a future meeting. Key West Citizen. A half-cent sales tax surcharge on the Nov. 5 ballot would, if renewed by voters, raise an estimated $222 million from January 2026 through Dec. 31, 2025. That money would be used to build and renovate schools. Key West Citizen.
Colleges and universities: Results from Florida’s free speech survey on college campuses suggest that 81 percent of students and 58 percent of faculty believe their university provides an “environment for free expression of ideas, opinions, and beliefs.” It also shows that 22 percent of students identify as Republicans, compared to 13 percent nationally, and 25 percent consider themselves Democrats, compared to 30 percent nationally. Politico Florida. Florida Phoenix. Florida Southern College in Lakeland is adding a master’s of science degree in mental health nursing. The first class will be accepted in January. Lakeland Ledger. A Florida International University refinancing plan that is part of a $6 million deal to rename the school’s football stadium after the rapper Pitbull has been approved by the state’s Board of Governors. News Service of Florida. The Board of Governors also directed a budget committee to learn how a settlement dealing with compensating athletes for use of their names, images and likenesses will affect college sports in the state. News Service of Florida.
Local education funding: Florida school districts’ reliance on local funding, mostly through property taxes, has grown 70 percent in the past decade, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and now represents 52 percent of all district revenues. The state’s proportion of overall education funding has dropped from 40 percent in 2014 to 31 percent in 2023, while the federal share of funding has been steady at 17 percent. Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Around the nation: An estimated 4.4 million students and children born in the United States could be separated from their undocumented parents if Donald Trump is elected president and follows through on his proposal to conduct mass deportations, researchers say. That could leave educators with the responsibility of providing food, clothing, counseling and more to affected students. As many as 1 million residents of Florida could be among those removed, according to an American Immigration Council study. Chalkbeat. Miami Herald.
Opinions on schools: Florida’s lawmakers are doing the work of bringing coherence and purpose to general education that the universities often will not do. Scott Yenor, Inside Higher Ed. Duval County students who already face barriers to academic success, such as lack of resources or access to support services, are further marginalized by the closure of their schools. Isaiah Rumln, Florida Times-Union. Florida’s licensing board for private colleges and universities voted last week on whether to renew the license for Orlando’s Central Christian University, a school run by state Rep. Carolina Amesty’s family, after state authorities reported that Amesty “defrauded” the state to get the license in the first place. So did the state let the school keep its license? The board refuses to say. Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel.
