Governor DeSantis signed the record $101.5 billion budget for the coming fiscal year into law today at a popular restaurant in New Smyrna Beach. He also vetoed $1.5 billion in spending including Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Summer Bridge program among other programs designed to help children. This budget marks the first to exceed $100 billion…
The 2021 Florida Legislative Session ended on April 30th. Lawmakers will return on May 17th to discuss details of the gaming compact. No money from the compact is in the current budget and plans are to keep it in reserves until the 2022 session. However if anything related to education funding arises, we will keep…
According to the Miami Herald, the Florida lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement on how to spend $12 billion in federal COVID stimulus funds earmarked for public education. School districts, strapped with additional expenses and needs due to the pandemic, desperately need these funds. Budget talks broke down between the House and Senate earlier…
March 5, 2021 From CBS News: School and childcare workers now have an opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine even if they live in one of the roughly dozen states around the U.S. where they have not yet been declared eligible. After a shift in federal policy this week, pharmacy chain CVS Health said it would adhere…
DeSantis says school employees will not be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine “Emphasizing that his focus remains on Florida’s elderly population, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said teachers and school staff should not expect to be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19 — at least for now.” according to the Miami Herald. “The governor’s comments came as…
The Alliance of Public Schools is thrilled to announce that the Department of Defense has released that Hillsborough County Public Schools is one of 12 awardees across the nation for the National Defense Education Program STEM grant. The Alliance for Public Schools will provide parent engagement activities as part of this initiative. The district will…
Florida’s incoming Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls warned of significant budget cuts due to the state’s dire financial crisis. He told participants in an online webinar last week that Florida experienced a “massive financial hit” due to Covid-19 and expects the state to take “three to four years” to recover. School districts are bracing…
BREAKING NEWS- Today, Leon County Judge Charles Dodson ruled in favor of the Florida Education Association in their lawsuit against the state. Read the Ruling here. From the Tampa Bay Times– Saying the state has “essentially ignored the requirement of school safety” in its requirement that campuses reopen in August, Leon County Judge Charles Dodson…
The lawsuit contending the state cannot force counties to open for in-person instruction passed its first hurdle Friday morning. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case. He said this case “cries out” for mediation and its complexity requires both sides to come together to work…
After stark testimony from Hillsborough’s medical advisory group, Hillsborough School Board members voted to delay the implementation of Superintendent’s school re-opening plan for four weeks. Members Stuart and Snively were the dissenting votes. After questioning by Member Shamburger, each of the health care professionals on the committee stated that they would not recommend resuming face…