by Betty Castor, published by the Tampa Bay Times Betty Castor, former teacher, Hillsborough County commissioner and state senator, served as Florida’s commissioner of education and later as president of the University of South Florida. Castor has been president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She currently chairs the board at…
In case you missed the news during the holiday bustle, graduation rates increased across Florida. Students are graduating at record rates, reaching a 15-year high in the last school year at 86.1 percent, according to the state Department of Education. Nearly every sub-group of students tracked achieved increases including African-American students, Hispanic students, students with…
The Tampa Bay Times has endorsed the school referendum on the ballot in Hillsborough County in November. They followed up with a column on why voters should pass the referendum: The Hillsborough County school tax on the Nov. 6 ballot is a smart, necessary investment in the nation’s eighth-largest school system. The 10-year, half-penny sales…
The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa Bay Times have endorsed the Hillsborough school referendum on the ballot on November 6th. On Thursday, the Chamber voted to support Hillsborough’s schools. In a statement, they acknowledged the alignment between a strong education system and a healthy economy: “This tax would help to provide our…
At the August 24th school board meeting, Hillsborough School Board members decided to ask voters to approve a half-cent, 10-year local sales tax increase on the November 6th ballot. The vote, opposed by April Griffin and Melissa Snively, was 5-2 and will pit schools against a local group advocating for a one penny sales tax…
This afternoon, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the controversial proposed constitutional Amendment 8 should remain off of the November ballot. They agreed with the lower court that the summary and title were misleading to voters. From the Tampa Bay Times: Its ruling on the three-pronged initiative is final. Elections supervisors across Florida are slated…
School board races decided by a few voters It turns out that the people who represent us and our children on the school board earned their seats thanks to just a small percentage of voters. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Those little ovals next to the candidates’ names went unmarked by the thousands. In…
Primary voters in Florida exceed 2014 totals Over 1.9 million Florida primary voters had already voted before polls opened on Election Day. Election supervisors are predicting an increase over the last midterm primary election held in 2014. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Republican voters have had more vote-by-mail ballots returned than Democrats. Even before…
According to the Washington Post, sources inside the U.S. Department of Education say Secretary Betsy DeVos is considering allowing federal funds to buy guns for schools. Two people said the question being contemplated inside the department is whether states are allowed to use money available through Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants to buy firearms.…
Amendment 5 puts school funding, Florida’s future in jeopardy Florida’s current per-pupil, school funding is below the pre-recession level, when accounting for inflation, and could be made even worse if voters approve a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution in November according to a new policy brief by the nonpartisan Florida Policy Institute. Amendment 5 would require a…