Pinellas tweaks legislative wish list

A revised draft of the Pinellas school district's 2010 legislative agenda includes a few interesting changes - all suggested by school board members at last week's workshop.

It now begins with an excerpt from Article IX of the Florida Constitution - the excerpt that says it's a "paramount duty" of the state to make "adequate provision" for "high quality" schools. That's the same language that opened the door to this new lawsuit.

It now notes in the first section that the school board has been "unable to provide pay increases for any employee groups in the past three years." (It continues to say that the board's goal is to increase teacher salaries to the national average and that the Legislature should "build a budget that allows that to happen.")

It no longer says the Legislature should consider a proposal for a constitutional revision that would make the class-size amendment more flexible, but continues to ask for "as much statutory flexibility as possible."

The board will consider the revised draft on Jan. 12.

Florida attorney general: High-quality schools lawsuit is "baseless"

Florida Attorney General (and Republican gubernatorial candidate) Bill McCollum issued this statement a few minutes ago about the high-quality schools lawsuit:

These lawsuits appear to be driven by political and financial motives with little or no regard to educating our children. Florida's focus must be on making progress with our children's education, not on fighting baseless legal battles. Our office will provide quality legal representation on behalf of our clients, and I look forward to bringing this matter to a quick resolution.

A weekend interview with plaintiffs and attorneys in the Florida high quality schools lawsuit

On Wednesday, a group of parents and parents advocacy groups filed suit against the state, charging that it had not lived up to a constitutional mandate to provide high quality schools. On Tuesday, several members of the group and several of their attorneys met with the St. Petersburg Times editorial board. The following are excerpts from the interview.

The plaintiffs group included Kathleen Oropeza and Linda Kobert from the Orlando-based group Fund Education Now; Mark McGriff, executive director of the Gainesville-based Citizens for Strong Schools; co-counsel Jon Mills, a former Florida House speaker; and co-counsel Jodi Siegel and Neil Chonin, both with Southern Legal Counsel, a Gainesville public interest law firm. (Orlando Sentinel photo shows, from left, FEN co-founders Christine Bramuchi, Kobert and Oropeza.)

Jon Mills: The capsule is 10 years ago, the people of Florida passed a constitutional amendment with 71 percent that says we are entitled to a free, public school system that’s high quality and that’s a paramount duty of the state and a fundamental value of the state. There were two of us involved in introducing that amendment. Bobby Brochin, some of you may remember … is fired up about this too. He’s in Miami. We worked for years trying to figure out the best way to do this. And sort of the best way to do this came to us.

The citizens groups – Mark’s group in Gainesville had done some work already on local financial support for the school system. We talked to them. … And we talked to Fund Education Now. And they were enthusiastic about becoming part of this. And there really is a statewide reach to both of those organizations. And it is a citizen driven lawsuit.

Poll: Funding lawsuit

Do you support the parent lawsuit alleging that Florida has not properly funded or supported public education?
Yes
No

Florida education commissioner: lawsuit "diminishes" student progress

Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith, a defendant in the education lawsuit filed this morning, tonight issued this statement in response:

“It’s unfortunate that this lawsuit diminishes the significant progress that has been made by our children over the last decade and simply ignores the performance of a state that is clearly outpacing the nation. Our African-American and Hispanic students have experienced unprecedented academic improvements and have significantly narrowed the achievement gap in Florida, our graduation rate has steadily improved, and state and national assessments all show tremendous progress. I believe Florida’s education system has achieved incredible results that clearly speak for themselves and are not represented in this complaint.”

Patricia Levesque, executive director of Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future, also issued a statement a short while ago:

“This lawsuit is based on myths perpetuated by critics of reform who care more about protecting the status quo for adults than improving the quality of education for students. This is the same old cast of characters who have opposed bold, outcome-based reforms for a decade – and continue to stand in the way of progress.

“They can’t win at the ballot box, or in the court of public opinion, so they are taking their losing, misguided battle to the judicial system."

Democrats cheer education lawsuit

Florida Democrats can't get enough of the new lawsuit.

From House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands: "Not only are Florida schools inadequately funded, but the state's school accountability system is in need of serious repair. It's high time for Florida's education accountability system to be updated so that it no longer focuses so much on how students perform on a single day's standardized test. Hopefully, this lawsuit will help us achieve the necessary changes for Florida to truly have the world-class education system that our children deserve."

Lawsuit charges Florida with failing on education

The suit was filed a little bit ago, in Leon County Circuit Court. Read today's St. Petersburg Times story about it here.

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Pinellas' legislative wish list: more money, more class-size flexibility

The Pinellas school district wants the 2010 Legislature to restore per-pupil funding to May 2007 levels, according to a draft legislative program the School Board will discuss at Tuesday's workshop. Per-pupil funding for Pinellas was at $7,396 back then. It's at $6,908 now.

The district also wants lawmakers to provide more money for class-size reduction and to make the class-size amendment more flexible, including consideration of a constitutional revision "that lessens the cost of the class size amendment and provides local flexibility."

Just about everything on this year's draft wish list was on last year's draft wish list. One exception: Last year's draft said "the state should revisit the use of the FCAT to ensure that the results are used as diagnostic tools." This year's draft doesn't include any reference to the FCAT.

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Hawaii reconsiders furloughs

School funding looked so bad for Hawaii last month that the government announced it would shorten its academic year to 163 days, furloughing teachers and closing most Fridays. The move garnered criticism from parents, teachers and even the Obama administration.

Now Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle is backtracking, saying she wants to dip into emergency funds to restore 27 furlough days and get kids back into school on Fridays, the AP reports. The Garden Island details the new plan.

Florida, with one of the nation's most struggling financial pictures, expects to have its own share of continuing money woes for schools in the years to come. Is there a lesson here for Florida leaders, who have cut state education funding the past few years and now warn about the "cliff" when stimulus funds run dry?

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Poll: Race to the Top

Should Florida pursue federal Race to the Top education funds?
Yes, we need the money
No, too many strings attached

Yellow Brick Road: Pinellas falls in the middle on classroom spending

Pinellas might spend more than most of the other big districts on general administration. But its own analysis shows that when it comes to in-the-classroom spending, its numbers fall in the mid-range.

Among the 12 biggest districts in 2008-09, Pinellas ranked at either No. 5 or No. 6 on “direct instruction,” according to its latest “Yellow Brick Road” report, which was posted yesterday. The numbers are taken from other districts’ annual financial reports, so it’s based on what other districts say about themselves.

Pinellas spent 62.78 percent of its general and special revenue funds on direct instruction last year, the report says. That’s not as good as No. 1 Polk at 64.41 percent, but it’s better than No. 12 Orange at 59.65 percent.

Hillsborough (No. 9) spent 61.83 percent. Pasco (No. 10) spent 61.35 percent.

Teacher quality initiatives could be big part of Florida's Race to the Top application

Florida has two months before it submits its Race to the Top application. But if this presentation to the state Board of Education yesterday is any indication, a whole bunch of teacher quality initiatives are being looked at by the Florida Department of Education. Among them: Finding ways to put more high-performing teachers into low-performing schools. Using student test scores to gauge the effectiveness of colleges of education. Coming up with better ways to evaluate teachers. And linking student data to professional development.

Who knows what form the application will finally take? And who knows whether Florida will win one of the grants? But if the $350-$700 million figures being thrown around are real, and if Florida is in as good a position to get the money as some suggest, Florida teachers could be seeing some big changes, soon.

UPDATE: Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith is feeling pretty good about Florida's chances.

How much would an A cost?

A Goldsboro, N.C., parent advisory council wanted to hold an innovative fundraiser to help pay for some middle school equipment.

It came up with a doozy: Anyone who paid $20 could buy 10-point credits on two tests of his choice.

The school district quickly nixed the idea. But the mom who came up with the plan told the Charlotte News & Observer that the idea was misunderstood.

"Our intentions were not to sell grades," Deborah Breedlove said. "Our intention is to help our school raise money, which every school has to do."

Twenty dollars at a time. For points on a test.

The school district has ordered the school to return any contributions it has already collected in this activity, and it's investigating further action.

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Race to the Top could bring Florida $350-$700 million

That's according to final guidelines, released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education. The "notice inviting applications" says on Page 30 that the USDOE developed "nonbinding budget ranges" to help states shape their proposals. Florida, California, New York and Texas are in Category I, which means they should shoot for programs in the $350-$700 million range, although the guidelines also say "states may prepare budgets that are above or below the ranges specified."

Applications are due by Jan. 19. Winners will be announced next spring.

More on changes to the guidelines in this New York Times story.

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In Pinellas administration, here's who makes the big bucks

As Tuesday's St. Petersburg Times story on Pinellas administration costs pointed out, we asked the district for two lists: 1) District employees, not counting teachers and school-level administrators, who made more than $70,000 a year last year 2) Similar employees for this year. The number of such employees dropped from 91 to 87.

Total savings: $442,271.

The first list is here. The second list is here.

Times editorial: Pinellas school district still bloated

From an editorial in today's St. Petersburg Times, following Tuesday's story:

Pinellas School Board member Janet Clark is right. While the school system has made progress on paper in downsizing its administrative overhead, "it's a facade almost.'' Much of the success is the result of changing accounting techniques. The bottom line is that the administration is still bloated in an era of declining tax revenues, and the district needs to get more aggressive about becoming more efficient ...

Pinellas still ranks no better than the third-biggest spender on administration among the state's 12 biggest districts. Hillsborough, a bigger district and the eighth-largest in the country, spends less on administration per student. Pasco, a smaller district, spends the least of the top dozen districts. Meanwhile, the number of Pinellas district employees who earn more than $70,000 has dropped all the way from 91 to 87. That hardly reflects today's economic realities, where private companies and other local governments have dramatically downsized and become more efficient by necessity.

(Photo from imway2fat.wordpress.com)

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Pinellas, Pasco school districts polar opposites on administrative costs

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the leanest district of all? As today's St. Petersburg Times story points out, it's not Pinellas, although Pinellas has dropped from No. 1 in top heaviness among the 12 biggest districts to No. 2 or No. 3.

The answer is Pasco.

Among the 12 biggest districts, Pasco spends the least on administration, at least by several ways of slicing and dicing. (We looked at general administration costs in the general fund and general administration costs in the general and special revenue funds combined.) Pasco is also the leanest of the biggest districts according to state calculations that factor in administrative costs at both the district and school level.

Today's story has a chart showing how Pinellas stacks up against the 11 other big districts. But for being loyal Gradebook readers, we give you a bonus: a spreadsheet that includes three other districts - Hernando, Manatee and Sarasota. Next to the big districts and other Tampa Bay districts, Hernando too looks very, very lean.

Parent group calls for funding to support more rigorous curriculum

The Orlando-based parent group Fund Education Now is raising concerns that Florida lawmakers are pushing students and teachers to do too much on the cheap.

The group considers the current round of education reform too rigid, wondering "what ever happened to the bell curve of life?"

"Clearly, not every child is going to college," the organization states in its latest weekly alert. "That fact shouldn't break any child's spirit or kill their desire to learn."

Parents need to pressure lawmakers to back standards with money, the group asserts:

"Raising standards is important. But raising standards in the absence of proper funding for implementation, clear thinking about whether these changes will really allow our kids to compete globally, and ensuring that the whole exercise isn't just an exhausting and expensive dance of 'move the goal' is equally important." 

Money is tight these days. Should the state back off increasing standards? Find the money to properly put them into place? Or stick to its current path? Let's hear your thoughts.

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Feds: Stimulus saved/created 19,000 education jobs in Florida

19,525.2, to be exact, according to this new report from the U.S. Department of Education. Go to page 36 to see a breakdown by category.

UPDATE: The report doesn't offer specifics for most districts, including Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando. But on page 45, it does include this summary of stimulus spending in Hillsborough (which it looks like it obtained from the Council of the Great City Schools):

• ARRA money will be used to create new instructional and support positions throughout the district, but ARRA will also prevent the School District of Hillsborough County (SDHC) from having to layoff significant numbers of staff. Over all, the district will be creating or maintaining approximately 1,500 jobs due to ARRA.

Pinellas school district looks for help to improve image

It may be a time of budget cuts, but the Pinellas School Board plans to add a third person to its communications staff.

Why? Because the school district suffers from an image problem and could do a better job “marketing” its positive aspects, several board members said at Tuesday's meeting.

The board then approved Superintendent Julie Janssen’s recommendation to create the “strategic communications coordinator” job.

The vote passed 6-1, with board member Janet Clark dissenting. “I hate to say this, but I really think that’s part of the superintendent’s job,” she said.

BOE member: $2.7 billion wasted on bad teachers in Florida

Chris Matthews recently dubbed Rep. Alan Grayson "Captain Cojones," but Florida Board of Education member Roberto Martinez may be gunning for the title himself. Martinez, a former U.S. attorney who is close to both Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, has become increasingly vocal about two issues: education funding, or a lack thereof, and teacher quality, or a lack thereof.

In this letter to Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith, which will be sent to Crist and state lawmakers, Martinez pulls the two issues together at several points, including in this paragraph:

The total amount budgeted statewide in FY 2008-2009 for the salaries and benefits of the instructional personnel was approximately $13.6 billion. That represented about 70% of the dollars appropriated by the State for education. If we assume that 20% of that workforce is low or non-performing (which may be a low approximation by some estimates), then that represents in excess of $2.7 billion that was wasted and that could have been directed to attract and retain high-quality teachers.

Pinellas school board approves promissory note, exam exemption change

Here's a summary of last night's Pinellas County School Board meeting, from St. Petersburg Times general assignment reporter Luis Perez:

* With no discussion, the board approved a promissory note from the Pinellas Education Foundation that spells out the repayment schedule for loans used to build the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy at Tarpon Springs High. The note does not include about $1 million that former Superintendent Clayton Wilcox promised the foundation without telling board members.

* With no substantial discussion, the board approved a change to the exam exemption policy for high school students. The big change: Attendance is no longer a factor.

* The board also approved a $30,000 agreement with Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay to restore the Foster Grandparents program in many south Pinellas schools.

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Internet sales tax idea gains key Florida Senate supporter

Florida state Sen. Nancy Detert, chair of the Education Pre-K-12 Committee, has thrown her support behind the push to have the state collect taxes on Internet sales and put the money toward public education.

Detert suggested that collections could exceed $2 billion a year, something schools that have lost funding recently could use, the Bradenton Herald reports. 

The Florida School Boards Association recently floated the same idea in its list of legislative priorities, although it said the revenue would probably be less — perhaps about $700 million a year.

During discussions in Tallahassee, Detert also said she might back moving the FCAT testing online to save money. Many school districts have noted that they don't have enough computers to make that happen. They've also pointed to problems with the recent FAIR testing and guessed that an online FCAT would be even worse.

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The cost of Wilcox's promise: $956,294.34

Clayton Wilcox's $1.5 million promise to the Pinellas Education Foundation -- which peeved School Board members because the former superintendent made it last year without their knowledge or approval -- won't cost the district that much after all.

Instead it will cost $956,294.34, which is the difference between how much the district loaned the foundation to build the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy at Tarpon Springs High and the $3.4 million the foundation initially agreed to spend.

The issue will come up at Tuesday's board meeting, where members are expected to approve a promissory note from the foundation that spells out a loan repayment schedule through 2016. A thumbs up for the note means they'll be writing off the $956,294.34 as a contribution.

Poll: Internet taxes

Should Florida lawmakers enforce collection of taxes on Internet sales to bolster education funding?
Yes
No

(Image from peproducts.com)

Florida School Boards Association: Tax Internet sales

To get more money for schools, the state should start collecting sales taxes on Internet purchases, the Florida School Boards Association suggests in a draft platform for next year's legislative session. That position is listed as one of the FSBA's top priorities for next year, according to the draft, which can still be amended before its scheduled adoption at an association meeting in Tampa Oct. 29.

Collecting sales taxes on Internet sales could bring in as much as $700 million a year.

Among the FSBA's other top priorities: Find more money for education and stop further cuts. Support efforts to ease the requirements of the class-size amendment. And give districts maximum flexibility in designing the school calendar.

Call them 'furlough Fridays': Hawaii cuts school year to deal with budget woes

Here in Florida, we've seen school districts taking paid days from employees in order to cut some expenses.Hawaii is taking the concept a big step further.

The AP reports that a newly minted contract shortens Hawaii's school year to 163 instructional days, with most Fridays off for the rest of the academic year. The deal allows the statewide school district to avoid layoffs.

Already, the complaints are pouring in.

"It's just not enough time for the kids to learn," Valerie Sonoda, president of the Hawaii State Parent Teacher Student Association, told the AP. "I'm getting hundreds of calls and e-mails. They all have the same underlying concern, and that is the educational hours of the kids."

Could this be next for Florida?

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National survey: 40 percent of teachers are 'disheartened'

There's a lot of bummed-out teachers in America -- burned out by too much testing, too many unruly kids and too much accountability pressure, according to the results of a nationwide survey released today.

The poll by Public Agenda, based on a nationally representative sample of 890 teachers, shows that 40 percent of teachers are disheartened. Asked about drawbacks to their jobs, 58 percent said there is too much testing, and 50 percent said there are too many kids with discipline problems. Asked what is the most difficult thing about teaching, 32 percent said unreasonable pressure to raise student achievement.

The survey also asked teachers about a host of other issues, with nuanced and sometimes surprising results:

* 75 percent said good teachers can lead all students to learn, even those from poor families or who have uninvolved parents, compared to 24 percent who said it's too hard for even good teachers to overcome those barriers.

Pinellas schools may save grandparents program

To save money, the Pinellas County School Board didn’t renew a $30,000 contract last year for the Foster Grandparents program, which hires low-income senior citizens to work as mentors/tutors at a dozen south Pinellas elementary schools. But the program appears poised to win a reprieve.

The board is set to consider renewal at its Oct. 27 board meeting. The shift comes after Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, the group that oversees the program, sent pleas to teachers, principals and others to help save it.

The program has its roots in President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Societyand has been in Pinellas 29 years. Last year, 30 of its seniors logged in 20,000 hours in Pinellas schools. They were paid $2.65 an hour, with the district picking up $1.41 of that.

Columnist: An alligator couldn't limbo under Florida's educational bar

St. Petersburg Times business columnist Robert Trigaux is covering the Florida Chamber of Commerce summit in Central Florida, where the state's education system is a hot topic. Trigaux writes on his blog:

Hey, I'm all for economic transitions and transformations. Nobody's a bigger fan of the idea of raising Florida's educational bar, which at this point a Florida alligator could not limbo under. But I'm still left with that uneasy feeling that our Tallahassee politicians lack the will and discipline to make it happen. And, as was noted repeatedly here Monday by attendees, selling Florida residents (who will continue to be dominated by people over age 60) on the value of paying higher taxes for better schools is clearly an uphill battle.

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Crist warning state agencies of potential budget cuts

From the Florida governor's office, more gloomy news on next year's budget.

"I have discussed the state's financial forecast with the Governor this afternoon," Crist budget director Jerry L. McDaniel writes in this memo late yesterday. "As he indicated at the most recent Agency Heads meeting, we anticipate no requested increases in the agencies' budgets as well as a full slate of reduction options."

McDaniel also writes that "insuring adequate funding levels for Education and Public Safety ... has always been a priority."

Florida school districts face $5.5 million in No Child Left Behind sanctions

So long as school districts fail to meet the adequate yearly progress requirements of No Child Left Behind, they'll continue to face funding sanctions in the use of their federal Title I money.

This year, the Florida Department of Education has determined that districts must reapply for a combined $5.5 million that otherwise would have gone toward administration of programs for low-income students. Instead, the money must be used to help student groups that failed to make AYP.

In the Tampa Bay area, the sanctioned amounts are:

• Hernando, $30,080
• Hillsborough, $388,297
• Pasco, $168,572
• Pinellas, $196,979

To get the money, districts must submit plans detailing the schools they plan to help, the student groups targeted, the planned activities and exactly how the district expects to make AYP using these and other resources. The deadline is Nov. 9.

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Florida's "cliff" not so steep as in other states, Gov. Crist says

Gov. Charlie Crist today issued his assessment of Florida's spending of federal stimulus funds. He suggested that, when it comes to education, the state isn't in as bad a shape as other states.

Crist doesn't discount that schools will feel the pain when the money runs out. But he says that by spreading out the spending rather than using all the money immediately, lawmakers mitigated that pain:

"As of August 28, Florida has begun to use about $1.3 billion in available funds. These funds are responsible for preserving the jobs of approximately 20,000 educators. The number of students affected by these teachers could fill all of Florida's major football stadiums combined. This is great news for Florida. The speed of expenditures from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund for educational services is not an indicator of success, but instead the depth of a state's financial problems. Some states faced such urgent crises that they have used the majority of these funds to fill funding gaps.

Showing great prudence and foresight, we took a different approach. Your appropriations committees spread these funds over the next two school years, providing a much more stable fiscal environment for Florida's schools and our schoolchildren. Florida's strategy means the effects will be further in the future and less deep and dramatic than some states will face. While we will face future decisions when the stimulus funds are not available, our transition will be much more quickly manageable than for those states who were forced to exhaust their funds more quickly."

See Crist's letter to Senate President Atwater and House Speaker Cretul for more details.

Manatee County schools consider selling naming rights to career academies

With Florida's budget still sinking, school districts across the state are looking for ways to keep programs afloat.

A couple weeks ago, Orange schools floated the idea of selling ads within their walls. Today, the Herald-Tribune reports about Manatee's proposal to let corporations sponsor the district's career academies.

For $25,000 in cash or donations, a company could have its name attached to the academies. They would get logos and links on the program's marketing materials. They might even get input into the curriculum.

Officials say it would be like an amped up business partnership, similar to what St. John's County schools do. "It would have to be something appropriate that adds credibility to the academy," career education director Doug Wagner told the Herald-Tribune.

The critics already are sharpening their attacks, saying it's just another way for businesses to capitalize upon a captive audience.

But those businesses are the ones that might be hiring these students once they complete their programs. And if they don't support the academies, perhaps students will have to pay to get through them. Schools can't run programs on desire alone, after all. 

It's a continuing conundrum for the schools. We heard it about exclusive soda contracts in schools, about Bus Radio and Channel One. Anyone have a good answer out there? 

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Former Pinellas superintendent still irking School Board

Former Pinellas Superintendent Clayton Wilcox is long gone. But a decision he made just before his departure 16 months ago has School Board members grumbling now.

Back in 2006, the board agreed to loan the Pinellas Education Foundation up to $5 million to help build the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy at Tarpon Springs High, which opened last spring. But unbeknownst to board members, Wilcox agreed in April 2008 – a few weeks before he left to become a vice president at Scholastic -- to contribute (rather than loan) $1.5 million in district money.

Board attorney Jim Robinson said Wilcox’s written commitment (see it on page 9 of this file) came to light a few months ago, as he was researching a promissory note that spells out a repayment schedule for the foundation’s loan.

More 'belt-tightening' ahead for Florida school districts?

Ruh-roh. We knew the worst wasn’t over, didn’t we? Florida’s budget could be $2.6 billion in the red next year, according to a new financial report out yesterday.

Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith sent this warning to superintendents last week:

Based on currently approved revenue sources and historical legislative budgeting practices, the Outlook projects annual deficits of 11.8% for FY 2010-11, 22.8% for FY 2011-12, and 20.2% for FY 2012-13. Since the State Constitution requires the Legislature to adopt a balanced budget each year, this Outlook implies the need to reduce future expenditures, enhance future revenues, or provide some combination of these two options.

While it is not clear how the Legislature may address this situation, a prudent response at the school district level includes maintaining a healthy unreserved fund balance and avoiding decisions that create future operating costs in excess of the current level of funding.

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Gelber to McCollum: File suit over education funding

State Sen. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat running for attorney general, tells current Attorney General Bill McCollum in a letter today that McCollum should immediately file suit "against the Legislature and the governor challenging the adequacy of education funding in Florida."

"If you believe an action of the state -- in this case the passing of a budget that fails to adequately provide a high-quality system of free public schools -- creates a constitutional violation, you are obliged to exercise the broad powers that rest within your office and would allow you to remedy the violation. I believe it is hard not to find such a violation exists."

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Should Florida have a tax credit program for public schools?

This new report from the Florida Legislature's research arm looks at such programs in two states (Pennsylvania and Arizona), and considers the possibility of one in Florida. Florida has a tax credit voucher program that gives businesses an incentive to contribute money for low-income students who need financial help to attend private schools. But it doesn't have a program that allows businesses to get tax credits for donations to public schools.

The report says that among other issues, lawmakers should consider the impact on tax-credit vouchers if they pursue such a program. The voucher people say they're open to the idea:

"We're excited by any program that could direct resources to low-income students and strengthen our partnership with Florida's public schools," John Kirtley, chairman of Step Up For Students, said in a written statement. "Our mission is to help students from poor and working-class families no matter where they are taught, and we look forward to working with legislators and public educators to see whether a Public School Tax Credit can advance that objective. We see great possibilities."

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Florida school boards start setting their salaries

The law couldn't have been more clear for this year's budgets: Florida school boards should get paid the amount that the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations set or the amount of a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree — whichever is less.

That didn't prove a problem in Pinellas, where the staff determined that a beginning teacher's salary of $37,010 was less and simply reduced the board members' pay in the payroll system.

In Pasco, the administration decided to give board members an option.

Yes, the LCIR recommended board member pay of $37,738 is higher than the $36,420 salary of a first-year Pasco teacher, the staff noted. But if you annualize the teacher's pay to 245 days, as the FBSA has suggested, it comes to $45,525 — much less than the LCIR's amount.

Now it's up to the board to choose whether to take a $1,294 cut, or a $24 raise.

Board members don't seem to be biting. And that's a good thing, state Senate Education Appropriations chairman Steve Wise told the Gradebook.

"When we wrote the language, it was specific," Wise said. "Whatever the beginning salary was, the school board salary was not to be higher than what the (beginning) teachers get. None of this voodoo economics. ... Give me a break."

Pinellas School Board member takes aim at Boy Scouts

In trying economic times, why would any school board member turn down free money for her district? Pinellas board member Linda Lerner says in the case of money from a group called Learning for Life, it’s because it will send a message - that the district doesn’t condone discrimination against gays and lesbians.

On Tuesday, Lerner urged the board to turn down a $75,000 character education grant from Learning for Life because the group is a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, which prohibits openly gay individuals from serving as leaders. This year the grant is set to serve students in 10 schools.

Lerner has raised the Boy Scouts discrimination issue many timessince Learning for Life began operating in Pinellas nine years ago – and she has been shot down every time. On Tuesday, the board approved the grant 5-2, with Lerner and board member Janet Clark voting no.

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An education amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

In this new report, the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation says we need one. Its main arguments: Lack of school funding and funding disparities.

An education amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the best way to ensure efficient use of national resources; abrogate place, wealth, and color as markers of education quality; and improve the quality of opportunity to learn afforded to all of the nation's public school students. Such an amendment would clarify and enhance the role of the national government in ensuring finance and resource adequacy, address the education needs and priorities of the nation as a whole, and provide necessary guidance to state and local governments to help raise the baseline of education quality, achievement, attainment, and accountability.

Hmmm. Florida has an education amendment to its constitution, requiring "adequate provision ... for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools." But has that helped with funding and funding disparities?

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A weekend interview with the founders of Fund Education Now, a parent group fighting to improve Florida education funding

As Florida lawmakers cut public school funding, a group of Orlando parents decided to jump into action. They started small, working to raise awareness at their own school. Now they're expanding their horizons, looking to energize parents across Florida to fight for their children's schooling. Christine Bramuchi, Kathleen Oropeza and Linda Kobert have launched a new web site, FundEducationNow.org, and are trying to link with parent groups around the state. Bramuchi and Oropeza spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about their effort. (Photos by Rhissa Parker Photography)

Christine Bramuchi

I'm first interested in knowing how you came to create your group.

We all have students at the same school. ... When the superintendent here in Orange County, Ron Blocker, and the principal sounded the alarm that the funding crisis was getting more extreme ... we kind of got together to inform and educate the the parents at our school. Because there was a lot of high emotion, a lot of questions, and people didn't know what was going on. They just heard we were going to have a huge budget crisis.

Were you the PTA leaders? Why did you decide to do this at the school?

Actually, our principal Polly Roper called Kathleen because Kathleen had raised the issue of the budget crisis last school year. Because we had begun to have cuts the year before, and they were affecting us in small ways. So when Ron Blocker said it was extremely dire and the most urgent situation he had ever seen, Polly Roper came back to school and called Kathleen and said, 'I need your help on this. We need to talk.' So Linda Kobert and myself got together with Kathleen and just set about to inform and educate our parents at our school. ... So we did a little homegrown Web site for our parents and just tried to answer as many of their questions on there as possible. We also gave them links to their local legislators and state officials.

And then it turned into a bigger effort, I take it.

It did. I think any time you put anything on the Web, it goes viral. We started hearing from parents at other schools, and other principals. What we were doing with our parents was sending out weekly e-mails with updates and calling them to action. A lot of the e-mails were pretty strongly worded ... encouraging action by our parents to advocate on behalf of their children. People who had never been politically active  at all in their entire lives were very fired up and were calling and writing and e-mailing and visiting their legislators, many of whom they didn't know their names before. ... I guess a lot of groups were sprouting up, you reported on them, around the state.

I was going to ask you about that. Because the other groups, they started and then I didn't hear much more from them. Are you all joining forces now?

Sen. Charlie Justice: School board group misses point on electioneering law

Florida Sen. Charlie Justice, the St. Petersburg Democrat who spearheaded Senate Bill 216  in the spring, tells the Gradebook that he's amazed by the Florida School Board Association's opposition to his effort to stop government agencies from spending taxpayer money to advocate on election issues.

School officials have expressed concern that they would not be able to run campaigns for a sales tax to support construction, or a property tax increase to pay for needed operations. 

Nonsense, Justice exclaims.

Ad revenue for Florida schools: A solution or a fool's path?

The Orlando Sentinel reported this week that several Central Florida schools are looking into selling ads and other business deals to raise money they're not getting from taxes.

Bright House Networks, for instance, paid for exclusive rights to broadcast area high school sporting events.

This isn't totally new, of course. School districts across Florida have done things like sell soda companies exclusive access to students for years. They've sold advertising space to companies in sports fields and assorted school publications, as well. Never mind such efforts as Bus Radio and McDonald's ads on report card folders.

But the effort to find things marketable is reaching new heights, the Sentinel reports. And it's bad, the paper editorializes today:

"Schools are the Holy Grail: brimming with a captive audience of impressionable kids. It's ironic that school districts that gnashed their teeth over President Obama's recent pep talk, fearing his supposed agitprop would condition a captive audience, now are matter-of-factly considering giving the keys to merchandise peddlers. Talk about indoctrination."

Your thoughts?

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Study: Private donations drop for schools with bad grades

Turns out, Florida schools that get bad grades don't just miss out on school recognition money. Money from parents and local businesses dries up too, according to this new University of Florida study.

"What was particularly surprising in this study was the magnitude of the cutbacks; the numbers are very large," said Larry Kenny, a UF economics professor who worked on the study with David Figlio, a former UF professor now at Northwestern. "These contributions help schools, and losing the money lowers the quality of education."

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Pinellas approves smaller budget, higher tax rate

The Pinellas County School Board approved a $1.46 billion budget tonight that increases the tax rate to prevent deeper cuts to schools. And, as they did at the first budget hearing in July, board members blamed state lawmakers for making them do it.

This year, for the ninth year in a row, the Legislature forced districts to pay a greater share of education funding.

“I have grave concerns that they’re passing the buck to us … that you go be the bad guys,” said board chair Peggy O’Shea. “We have to come up with a better way of getting through to these folks.”

The 2009-10 budget is built on a new tax rate of $8.35 for every $1,000 of taxable property value – up from last year’s rate of $8.06. The owner of a home with a taxable value of $150,000 after exemptions would pay $1,253 – up $44 from last year – if his property values did not drop.

Countywide, property values have fallen 11 percent since last year, so the increased tax rate still brings the district $45.6 million less than it received last year.

Pinellas budget hearing set for Tuesday night

The revised draft budget for 2009-10, which the School Board will be voting Tuesday, is now up on the district's Web site. So is this summary.

It still reflects a proposed tax rate of $8.35 for every $1,000 of taxable property value, up from last year's rate of $8.06.

Back story here. Summary of first hearing here.

The hearing begins at 7 p.m.

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Poll: School recognition funds

What's the best way for Florida schools to spend their recognition funds?
Teacher bonuses
School supplies
Extra temporary staff
Put it into the general fund

How do schools count kids with the flu?

This is no idle question for Florida schools.

On the one hand, you've got every health official in the state urging children to stay home if they feel ill, so they can minimize the spread of swine flu. On the other, you've got school districts that want every seat filled during the October FTE count, so they can maximize their revenue.

Union leaders are fretting over this because low student counts could lead to job losses, if the numbers don't support teacher allocations at the schools. School Board members have started calling lawmakers, asking for a consideration so they don't get too little money to educate the kids that are home sick but will return.

"I would think someone would have to deal with that," said Chris Williams, planning director for Pasco County schools.

That someone will have to be Florida education commissioner Eric J. Smith.

University of Florida alumnus donates gift worth $32 million to business school

Al Warrington, the generous University of Florida alumnus whose name already graces the UF College of Business Administration, is feeling more generous.

Warrington, a UF trustee and 1958 graduate, announced this morning that he is committing $16-million to UF for an endowment that will be used to hire and support additional faculty for the business school -- one of the state university's largest and most popular colleges. Salary and benefits for the positions will come entirely from the income generated by the newly created Warrington Faculty Fellows Endowment. The four faculty positions will be in accounting and entrepreneurship, as well as in other areas still being determined.

The gift is eligible for state matching funds, which means the value of the donation is as much as $32 million.