The big story: Election Day is two weeks away. But in-person early voting begins today in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, and across Florida.
Several education-related matters appear on the ballot, including one statewide initiative. The Republican-dominated state Legislature is asking voters to consider a return to partisan school board elections, reversing a 1998 constitutional amendment. Read more about Amendment 1 and what the proposed changes would mean.
Locally, voters will be choosing school board members and superintendents. In Pinellas County, voters in one north-county district will choose between a moderate Republican and a more extreme conservative candidate. • Pasco County voters will select between two veteran educators with different world views and experiences in the race for superintendent. • One Hillsborough County incumbent board member faces a challenge to her reelection bid from a conservative teacher backed by the 1776 Project.
They also will decide a spate of sales and property tax referendums aimed at boosting districts’ revenue beyond the amount provided in the state budget. Pinellas County wants to double its property tax rate from past iterations, so it can give bigger bonuses to teachers and also provide extra pay to non-instructional staff. • Hillsborough County is asking for approval of a property tax, also to improve employee salaries, after having failed to win a similar request two years ago.
See more details in the Tampa Bay Times candidate guide.
Hot topics
University presidents: The University of Miami has named its interim president to the full-time position, the Miami Hurricane reports.
Teacher discipline: Brevard County commissioner John Tobia has resigned from his tenured teaching job at Valencia College after school officials found he was using county staff to do his college work, Florida Today reports.
Language learners: The Escambia County school district received a federal grant to help it better serve a growing number of students still learning English, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
Ethics: The state has ordered the Broward County school district to investigate a local critic’s complaints against school board members, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Contract talks: United Teachers of Dade reached a tentative contract agreement with the Miami-Dade County school district, WFOR reports. The deal next goes to a ratification vote.
Cell phones: The Broward County school district’s ban on cellphone use has won support and also created criticism since its implementation, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Career education: Funds from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill damages account will allow an Escambia County high school to reestablish an automotive service academy, NorthEscambia.com reports.
Bus rides: Duval County schools are launching a new phone app service to allow parents to track their children’s bus rides in real time, WJAX reports.
From the police blotter … A Manatee County middle school student was arrested on accusations of making a threat of violence against a school, the Bradenton Herald reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to Friday’s roundup.
Before you go … Godzilla has aged pretty well for a monster of 70.