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…
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…
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…
In November, Florida voters will have a chance to vote on Amendment 8, a proposed addition to the state constitution. This proposal claims to require school board term limits and civics literacy but it actually creates a state-wide committee that would have the sole authority to authorize charter schools. As News 4 in Jacksonville reports,…
This election cycle, Florida voters will choose a new governor, half of the state senate and the entire state house. The winners of these races will shape the future of Florida’s public schools determining school funding, teacher evaluations and pay scales, testing policies, graduation requirements and more. The new governor will choose a Commissioner of…
The 2018 election season is already shaping up to be a momentous one for Florida’s public schools. The governor’s office and cabinet positions will be on the ballot along with other seats including the U.S. Senate, House and a slew of State House and Senate races. Every 20 years the Constitution Revision Commission meets and…