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…)
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.
