Turnaround plans: The Polk County School District's plan to turn around five struggling middle schools is rejected by the Florida Board of Education. The board criticized the district's plan to retain some of the principals and low-rated teachers. Plans for underachieving schools in Duval and Orange counties were given conditional approvals, though the board said part of the Duval plan broke a state rule about school closures, and plans from Lee and St. Lucie counties were approved. Politico Florida. Florida Times-Union. TCPalm.

Contract negotiations: Marion County school officials are proposing a raise in pay for school employees. The raise is subject to negotiation with the district's unions, but the district's plan is to spend $3.6 million more in salaries than it did last year. The tentative budget submitted by Superintendent George Tomyn would increase 2.5 percent, to $519.3 million. Ocala Star Banner. The Volusia County School District reaches an agreement with bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other support staff. They will receive an average raise of 6.25 percent this year and 2.5 percent next year. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

School safety: U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Tallahassee, introduces a bill in Congress that would place tech-forward alert systems in school classrooms. The The “Securing Our Schools Act” allows the Justice Department to award districts extra dollars for the systems, which would be evaluated for effectiveness after a year. Tallahassee Democrat.

Longer school days: The Palm Beach County School District is considering extending the elementary school day. Superintendent Robert Avossa says the six-hour day might have to be bumped by a half-hour to improve student performance. Palm Beach Post. (more…)

Teacher bonuses challenge: A Florida administrative judge hears arguments in a challenge to the state's teacher bonuses program. The case of Cordelia Brown may hinge on the judge's definition of a teacher. Brown is a speech-language pathologist at Brentwood Elementary School. She contends she is a teacher, while the Sarasota school district says she is instructional personnel, not a teacher, and therefore is ineligible for the bonus. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Opt-out threats? Some Hernando County parents say school officials are threatening their third-graders with retention if they opt out of Florida Standards Assessments testing. A district spokeswoman says school officials are not threatening anyone, just following state law. Tampa Bay Times.

Naming contest: Early in the season, the baseball coach at Heritage High School told his players that if they won 14 games, they could name his new child, who is due in September. The team is now 13-6 with six games left. The players have voted and say if they win a 14th game, they want Rob and Julia Querry's new son to be named Benjamin Smalls Querry. It's the combination of two names from the players' favorite baseball movie, The Sandlot. Florida Today.

Turnaround proposal: The Pinellas County school district's plan to boost teacher pay by up to $25,000 a year and extend hours at five failing elementary schools still has to be negotiated, says the president of the teachers union. Mike Gandolfo says the district seems "to be in a rush to do this and I'm not in a rush to agree to it." He worries about the effect of a longer school day on teachers and students. Gradebook.

Superintendent evaluation: The Duval County School Board rates Superintendent Nikolai Vitti as an effective leader in his annual evaluation. Vitti received 41 of a possible 60 points, which puts him on the high end of the effective category and five points from being rated highly effective. Four board members graded Vitti at 44 or higher, and the three board members who have been critical of Vitti graded him in the low end of the effective category. Florida Times-Union. (more…)