Today's news

THIS ONE, OR START OVER: Hernando County's School Board, rejected by its first choice to become superintendent, turns to finalist No. 2. If Wayne Alexander doesn't pan out in contract negotiations, though, board members are suggesting they'd rather renew their search than pick from the other three hopefuls who came for interviews this week.

CHOICE DEADLINE APPROACHES: Pinellas parents have until March 24 to pick a school for their children. Here are three things every parent should know.

AUDIT WOES: Things aren't getting better for Florida A&M University. Months after an interim president took over to fix the school's money problems, a preliminary audit of her time in office turns up a lengthy list of holes and errors in FAMU's finances.

LATEST ON PERFORMANCE PAY: A compromise measure aimed at resolving complaints about the Special Teachers Are Rewarded law wins a key House committee vote as it heads to the floors of the House and Senate next week, the Associated Press reports.

CHARLIE IN MANATEE COUNTY: The gov heads to the spot where a boy was abducted while waiting for a school bus to announce the "Safe to School" initiative, the Herald-Tribune reports. He also rode in the nation's first plug-in hybrid electric school bus.

JEB IN GEORGIA: Florida's former voucher champion in chief takes his message on the road, writing an op-ed piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution supporting scholarships for students with special needs. Georgia lawmakers are considering creating a plan similar to Florida's McKay scholarships. Florida, meanwhile, has seen its ranks of voucher supporters shrink, the Palm Beach Post reports.

PRAYER AT SCHOOL: The joke goes that kids do it every day, silently before each test. But when they stand in the middle of a crowded hallway, they get suspended. That's what happened at a Washington state high school, and a national debate has erupted about student rights to gather and express themselves, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports.

REGULATING CLUBS: Speaking of kids' activities at schools, Utah lawmakers have decided that students should not be allowed to participate in clubs without parent permission. The law takes effect next month. Critics contend the target wasn't all clubs, just the gay-straight alliances, the New York Times reports.

Comments

[Doug Tuthill]

The Palm Beach Post is correct in asserting that there is little support in Florida for a Milton Friedman-type voucher program or for a “failing public schools” scholarship program, but there is widespread and growing support for means-tested scholarship programs that empower parents to match their children with the learning environments that best meet their needs. I was pleased to see former Governor Jeb Bush moving away from the failing public schools rhetoric in his AJC column.