The note is not in the mail

Once upon a time (last year), the Florida Department of Education would send a letter home to the state's best high school 11th-graders. It would tell them that so long as they graduate in the top 20 percent of their class, they'd have a spot reserved for them at one of the state's 11 public universities.

The Talented 20 program still exists. But not the letter.

Starting this fall, if juniors are to find out about the program benefits, they'll have to hope someone else who knows the scoop tells them. The state is eliminating its notification.

Budgets are tight, you know.

"Due to fiscal constraints, the Department will no longer send these letters, although we encourage school counselors to notify potential eligible juniors of the Talented 20 program," the department has announced. "We will continue to mail seniors a letter notifying them of their potential eligibility in the spring."