Today's news

STATE BUDGET HITS HOME: Pinellas announces it will eliminate jobs and cut pay, among other cost saving measures. Pasco looks to see a slightly larger budget, but not nearly enough to handle its growth and rising prices.

BUSING WOULD HELP: Law enforcement suggests giving Tampa Middleton High students bus rides home, rather than having everyone walk, in order to reduce after-school violence. It's a tough sell with money being tight. (Times photo, Kathleen Flynn)

FOR THE LOVE OF READING: Weightman Middle School in Wesley Chapel encourages its lowest performing readers by turning its intensive reading class into a contest to see who can learn the most. It ends with an emotional battle of the books, where the winners get more books.

CHARTER WOES: Another charter school, this one in Palm Beach County, is about to shut down because of financial problems, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

MEAL MAKEOVER: Broward schools change their cafeteria lunchtime offerings to cope with increasing food prices, CBS4.com in Miami reports.

CONTROLLING TRAVEL: The Lake School Board puts new restrictions on employee out-of-state travel, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

ALERT SYSTEM INSTALLED: Manatee Community College activates a new emergency notification system, so it can quickly let students and staff know if there's danger on the campuses, the Herald-Tribune reports.

WHO'S VOLUNTEERING? Brevard launches a review of how schools evaluate the volunteers who work with students, after learning a volunteer assistant coach at Titusville High didn't pass his background check, Florida Today reports. That volunteer coach has been arrested for providing alcohol to minors.

MORE ON THE STATE BUDGET: The Miami Herald offers an overview of what happened to school funding in Tallahassee. Manatee leaders back off a plan to cut salaries, the Bradenton Herald reports. Escambia eliminates 155 teaching and secretarial jobs, the Pensacola News-Journal reports. The TCPalm.com papers look at what the state budget means for their local schools.