65 PERCENT SOLUTION LIVES: Call Florida the last bastion of a bad idea. The "65 percent solution," abandoned in every other state as poor education funding policy, will come to Florida voters - along with vouchers - courtesy of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. Many say the political move does neither issue proper justice.
SECOND CHANCE: Pinellas parents who don't like the school their children are assigned to in the district's new attendance zone plan can apply for a transfer, starting today.
STEPS STOPPED: Pasco's school employees and administration agree to delay step increases until at least July 31, so they can collect more financial information.
HAPPY NEW LAW DAY: It's July 1, so it must mean that all the legislation that Gov. Charlie Crist has signed into law takes effect today. Several education-related bills are among them, the AP reports. One causing perhaps the most angst is the educator ethics bill and its after-the-fact penalties, WMNF-FM reports.
SAVE THE TEST: The Florida Department of Education's decision to cancel the nationally norm-referenced annual exam that compares our kids to those in other states might save money, but it's a bad idea, the Tallahassee Democrat editorializes.
FUNDING WOES HIT HS SPORTS: Coaches and athletic directors from across Florida lament the cuts their programs are facing as the state's financial picture worsens, the Palm Beach Post reports.
MORE FOR GAS: The Polk school district increases its diesel budget by $2.3-million - more than 33 percent higher than the past year - to keep up with rising costs, the Lakeland Ledger reports. The added price will be a hiring freeze, a delay in new computer purchasing and more.
NEGOTIATE YOURSELVES: The Manatee Education Association says it won't show up for a planned special hearing over proposed salary cuts, contending the district administration improperly declared a fiscal emergency, the Bradenton Herald reports.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN: Leon is getting tough on families from outside the county who ask to send their kids to Leon schools because of medical hardships, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
Get inside the world of Florida education with St. Petersburg Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek and the rest of the Times education reporting team. We'll bring you up-to-date information about the latest education trends, fads and news and dig deep into Tampa Bay area school issues.
Isn't the PSC going to give a bunch of utility companies huge rate increases today that will create the need for hundreds of millions of additional cuts to the public schools? What did they do?
Posted by: What about PSC actions from today? | July 01, 2008 at 02:07 PM