Tax measures approved: Several school districts around the state asked voters Tuesday to approve tax increases for schools. Here are the results: More than 83 percent of Orange County voters approve a renewal of a special property tax to help pay for teacher raises and to maintain academic, arts and sports programs. Orlando Sentinel. Voters in Broward County approve a boost in property taxes for teacher raises of 6 percent, school security and counseling. Sun-Sentinel. Lake County voters okay a property tax hike for school security and mental health services. Daily Commercial. Marion County voters overwhelmingly renew a tax that will pay for school safety, educational programs and more teachers and staff. Ocala Star-Banner. Voters in Clay County agree to raise property taxes to help pay for school security. Florida Times-Union. WJXT. Martin County voters approve a half-mill increase in property taxes for teacher bonuses, and more school guards, mental-health services and professional development. TCPalm. Monroe County voters back a new property tax to pay for better security in schools. WLRN. A renewal of a half-cent sales tax for schools through 2030 is approved by Bay County voters. Panama City News Herald.
School board elections: School board elections also are held around the state. Some seats are won outright, while runoffs will be needed to decide others. One of the winners is Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa died in the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. Other results: Miami-Dade County. Broward County. Palm Beach County. Orange County. Orange County School Board chair. Florida Times-Union. Hillsborough County District 1. Hillsborough District 2. Hillsborough District 4. Hillsborough District 6. Pinellas County District 2. Pinellas District 3. Pinellas District 6. Pinellas District 7. Seminole County. Lake County. Manatee County. Sarasota County. Collier County. Lee County. Charlotte County. Leon County. Alachua County. Marion County. Citrus County. Monroe County District 4. Volusia County. Flagler County. St. Johns County. Clay County. Martin County. Indian River County District 1. Indian River District 2. Indian River District 4. St. Lucie County District 1. St. Lucie District 3. St. Lucie District 5. Pasco County District 3. Pasco County District 5. Pasco County District 1. Polk County. Hernando County District 1. Hernando District 3. Hernando District 5. Brevard County. Escambia County. Santa Rosa County. Okaloosa County. Bay County. (more…)
Amendment 8 off ballot: A Leon County judge rules that proposed constitutional Amendment 8 should be removed from the November ballot because it "fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect." The amendment would allow the Legislature to create an entity to authorize charter schools. It would also set term limits for school board members and require civics education in schools. Judge John Cooper agreed with the plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters, that the ballot language was misleading and that the Citizens Review Commission bunched the three separate proposals to boost its chance of passage. The state is expected to appeal the decision. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. WFSU. Southern Poverty Law Center. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi files a response to the Supreme Court to a separate challenge from former chief justice Harry Lee Anstead, who contends six amendments are unconstitutionally bundled and should be removed from the ballot. Bondi argues that only the ballot proposals put forward by the public through petitions need to adhere to the state's single-subject rule because they don't have the oversight that the Constitution Revision Commission and Legislature have when creating and adopting proposals. Gradebook. Florida Politics.
Education lawsuit: Each side in a nine-year-old lawsuit over the way the state funds education will get 20 minutes Nov. 8 to make their cases before the Florida Supreme Court. The group that filed the suit, Citizens for Strong Schools, claims the state is failing in its constitutional duty to provide a "high quality" public education system. The state argues that the constitutional language is aspirational and can't be measured. Two courts have already sided with the state. Gradebook. WFSU. News Service of Florida.
Videos won't be shown: After parents questioned plans to show elementary and middle school students videos of what to do during a school shooting, Pinellas County school officials change course and say the videos won't be shown to elementary students. Instead, the district will put the videos on its website so parents can decide whether to show them to their children. WTVT. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA. Parents in St. Johns County also object to videos the school district plans to show students about what they should and should not do during a school shooting. The district plans for all students to watch the videos by Sept. 15. WJXT. (more…)
More disaster funding: The U.S. Education Department is giving Florida another $95.8 million in disaster assistance, even though the state has yet to spend any of the $84.5 million it received from the federal Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program to help schools, colleges and universities recover from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The new funding is through the Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students program, which is intended to help districts that had extra enrollment of students displaced by hurricanes. Politico Florida. Orlando Sentinel.
School security: A security consultant advises the Broward County School Board against using metal detectors in schools, saying they are expensive, hard to operate efficiently, not reliable without accompanied by patdowns, and provide limited benefits and great risks. Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, says he recommended to Superintendent Robert Runcie to back off installing them. Sun-Sentinel. Schools open today in Broward County, and half the schools in Fort Lauderdale still don't have armed guards. Sun-Sentinel. Only 24 school safety specialists were working on the first day of school in Duval County - less than half the number needed to cover each of the district's elementary schools. Another 27 are expected to be hired by Labor Day, and a third round of hiring won't put those assistants in schools until after Oct. 1. Florida Times-Union. WJXT.
Amendment 8 questioned: A retired chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court files a challenge with the court charging that six proposed constitutional amendments, including the education-related Amendment 8, are unconstitutionally bundled. Harry Lee Anstead and former Florida elections commissioner Robert Barnas say that bundling prevents voters from a simple yes or no vote. Amendment 8 would put term limits on school board members, require civics education and allow entities other than local school boards to approve charter school applications. Gradebook. Flagler Live. News Service of Florida.
