Today's news

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER: A review team warns the Collier School Board that, to receive full accreditation, it must quit interfering with the administration and improve its governance overall, the Naples Daily News reports.

WHAT'S THE THEME? A Lee elementary school boosts parental involvement by making participation more fun. A key idea has been giving PTO meetings television show themes, the Naples Daily News reports.

'NOT NICE': A group of Orlando students attending the Hi-Tech Learning Center for disadvantaged black youths gets a lesson in the true meaning of the "n-word," the Orlando Sentinel reports.

FINALLY: Manatee teachers and administrators finally make their way to the bargaining table after weeks of disagreement kept them apart, the Bradenton Herald reports.

CHARTER CONCERNS: Flagler district officials worry that a new Imagine charter school won't be ready to open in four weeks, seeing as its building isn't complete and it hasn't hired teachers, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

ATTENDING, VIRTUALLY: The number of students taking online classes at UCF is on the rise, Florida Today reports.

BUDGET ROUNDUP: Broward unveils a budget that includes teacher step increases but fewer teaching positions, less middle school sports and reduced student busing, the Miami Herald reports. Polk plans to cut field trips, consultants and yes, even high school football to make ends meet, the Lakeland Ledger reports. The Martin School Board delays its first budget hearing after determining the state set the district's tax rate too low, potentially shorting the district of $800,000, the Stuart News reports.

Comments

[terminator]

7:15
you are so full of crap it's coming out of your ears!
I was in Tally and attended some of those meetings where you guys pissed and moaned about getting more "flexibility".
Then when you got what you wanted you pissed and moaned about that.
Old termie and Marco sure do get underneath your skin. Apparently, we've done a swell job of screwing you and your worthless bureaucratic buddies to the wall.
Now bend over and say "thank you sir may I have another"!

Chris W, you are right about what the constitution says. It is the Legislature that is ignoring this Supreme Law.

terminator,

As you know, school boards get 5% for administrative expenses; however, you know that they spend more than 5% for services and regulatory costs. Hell, just copying the applications for exclusive authority would eat up a significant portion of the "administrative allowance." I guess that since most of the charter school employees are non-union that at least something good came out of this blatent disregard for the law.

Many of the districts did not want the .25 transfer you idiot.

As to the fat lady, you would know if she was getting ready. How is your wife?

Finally, I am not an educrat. I make more money than most superintendents in the state, but there are probably 12 to 15 union "leaders" who make more.

[terminator]

isn't the school board collecting 5% of each of the charter schools for "administrative expense"?
where is all that money going?

budget roundup:
do you guys ever quit whining? now you're complaining about the .25 mills they gave you?
you guys never seek to amaze. when will enough be "enough"?

I think the fat lady is getting warmed up! Have a great school year educrats!

[Chris W]

I'm not a lawyer, but in the state constitution it says:

"SECTION 4. School districts; school boards.--
...
(b) The school board shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the school district and determine the rate of school district taxes within the limits prescribed herein. Two or more school districts may operate and finance joint educational programs.

SECTION 5. Superintendent of schools.--In each school district there shall be a superintendent of schools who shall be elected at the general election in each year the number of which is a multiple of four for a term of four years; or, when provided by resolution of the district school board, or by special law, approved by vote of the electors, the district school superintendent in any school district shall be employed by the district school board as provided by general law. The resolution or special law may be rescinded or repealed by either procedure after four years."

My reading of this is that the State Constitution places the elected school boards squarely in charge of operating their respective school districts. In the Florida Statutes it says, under section 1001.42:

"1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board. The district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all powers and perform all duties listed below:"

and then it goes on to list just about everything having to do with operating the public schools within the district as being the job *of the school board* unless they vote to delegate it to the Superintendent. So it looks to me like SACS is trying to strong-arm the school boards into giving up their constitutional and statutory authority for the benefit of the administrators that make it up.. which sounds to me like they're a union trying to set up a closed shop where they get to make and benefit from the rules.

[charter concerns]

It is too bad that the law doesn't allow school districts to require performance on their contracts (charters) to include opening on time, etc. Only the legislature would force another government to sign contracts where public money and public policy were at stake but the public officials (school board members) do not have any recourse for failure by the contractor (charter school) to deliver the basic services under contract.

In this case, if the district was relying on the contractor (charter school) to serve say 500 students when school starts and they aren't ready to do it, the district has to find space and instructors (they can't just increase class sizes because of the constitution) to serve them. This is a huge problem as over a third of approved charter schools either open a year later than agreed or never open at all. Liquidated damages or some form of a bond should be allowed or even required by the state law instead of what currently exists.

Many charter schools are very good operators, but the locally elected school boards should have the authority to approve the good ones, deny the bad ones and to penalize those that fail to deliver as promised. Instead, the Legislature has tied the hands of local officials because national charter school operators own them (individually and collectively).

[Budget Roundup]

It is going to be one more huge "gottcha" from Tallahassee. The "conforming bill" to the budget changed how/when the final tax rolls are computed. The Legislature overestamated the value of the tax rolls (which understates the rates needed) and then required the local property appraisers to certify the rolls earlier for the purposes of locking in the school funding formula. This will cost districts statewide additional tens of millions which the Legislature will pretend was the fault of the districts instead of an organized scheme by Legislative staff to overstate their budget.

The Legislature and Governor (by signing the budget) will have cut more than 16.5% of GR out of the public schools by the time the "hold back" is taken into account comparing the 2007-2008 legislative budget to the final 2008-2009 budget. In addition, over $370 million more was cut from district capital budgets, and this new "scheme" will cost millions more in local property taxes.

At the same time, the PSC is approving rate increases for the utility companies because they can't ask to live within their means or to cut back when times are tough, diesel fuel has doubled in 18 months and some of the unions think that raises are still possible.