Today's news

THEY CALL IT 8.5: Lealman Intermediate takes 36 teens who failed the eighth grade and, in a small setting with loads of remediation, prepares most of them for the tenth grade over just one year.

A GIFTED WHIFF: Hernando's attempt to go from zero to 60 on a gifted education center is undermined by the School Board's own zeal and haste to get it done, the Times editorializes.

NEW PCs FOR HERNANDO: The Hernando school district gets 11,000 new Dell computers, replacing a system that was about 65 percent obsolete.

GRADUATIONS: Today's stories are from Ridgewood High, Pasco High, Hudson High, River Ridge High and Gulf High. (Times photo, Will Vragovic)

DO IT YOURSELF: Since the Broward School Board won't build a new high school to relieve crowding for Weston-area teens, the Weston city government is talking about beginning its own charter school system, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

HELP FOR THE 'HOOD: Gov. Crist has approved a $3.6-million project to improve educational opportunities for kids living in Liberty City, one of Miami's most historically troubled communities, the Miami Herald reports.

BUDGET ROUNDUP: Martin limits summer school options to deal with budget shortfalls, the Stuart News reports. St. Lucie superintendent Michael Lannon posts a podcast to explain to voters what's going on with that district's budget, the Fort Pierce Tribune reports. Lee officials are not quick to move tax money around to cover budget deficits, saying they'd be robbing Peter to pay Paul, the Fort Myers News-Press reports. Manatee's teachers and administration have reached impasse over pay talks, and the Bradenton Herald editorializes that they should get past the legal maneuvers and just talk. Lake officials are trying to keep school resource officers from being cut, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

AROUND THE NATION: Denver's promise of free college to students at one middle school isn't all it was cracked up to be for illegal immigrant children, the LA Times reports. Want to go to Yale? The school is opening two new residence halls and expanding its enrollment by 15 percent, the NY Times reports.