Today's news

TUTOR TIME: The teachers who work for Advanced Learning Centers target the needs of Pinellas and Hillsborough foster kids who often don't stay in the same school long. (Times photo, Edmund D. Fountain)

CUTTING CORNERS: Pasco principals try to keep budget cuts from affecting the classroom by targeting expenses such as trash bags and floor wax.

ELECTION NEWS: As Hillsborough's School Board races heat up, district officials start picking sides. Candidates for Pinellas District 4 begin distinguishing themselves on the issues.

LISTEN AND LEARN: Before jumping headlong into a business model reform, Pinellas school leaders are right to take a while to analyze the ideas and see if they're a proper fit, the Times editorializes.

OTHER TESTS COUNT TOO: A growing number of high school seniors who can't pass the FCAT for graduation are substituting the SAT or ACT, which some find easier, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

G.I. BILL OF RIGHTS: Congress has made changes to the way it funds education for veterans, but questions remain that Florida college advisers still can't answer, the Panama City News-Herald reports.

P.E. OVERHAUL: The Florida Department of Education is rewriting the state's physical education standards so that the classes are more than just throwing a ball, Local6.com in Tallahassee reports.

NO HAZING ALLOWED: Indian River school athletic directors are taking a hard line against hazing in the aftermath of a scandal with Sebastian High's baseball team, the Vero Beach Press Journal reports.

BUDGET ROUNDUP: With money tight, some Florida school districts are asking voters to increase the local taxes, the Herald-Tribune reports. Santa Rosa school officials see their decision to change school start times as a money saving option that parents and kids don't like, the Pensacola News-Journal reports. Floridians are starting to see the effects of a tight economy as tax-funded agencies including schools and universities begin cutting costs, the Orlando Sentinel reports.