Around the State: University of Florida records show that administrators hired by former President Ben Sasse and allowed to work from home in other states spent more than $211,000 on travel expenses in 17 months, vaccination exemptions for children entering kindergarten in Florida tripled from 2013 to 2023 and most were for religious reasons, state economists are projecting budget shortfalls in 2026 and 2027 with no change in spending habits, the Broward school board is suing drug companies and pharmacy managers over alleged insulin price gouging, a senior vice president at Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg has been named interim president, and education unions are suing the state over a provision in a new state law requiring 60% of eligible employees to pay dues to keep unions certified. Here are details on these and other stories from districts, private schools, colleges and universities across the state:
Broward: School board members approved filing a lawsuit against several drug companies and pharmacy managers for allegedly colluding to raise insulin costs for the self-insured district. About $26 million has been spent over the past seven years to help employees manage diabetes, according to legal counsel Marylin Batista, and the actual cost should have been $5,000 to $6,000 less for each affected employee, an attorney advising the district said. The law firms will be paid 25 percent of what is collected. Sun Sentinel. WLRNThe chair of three school district advisory boards should be removed for “defamation, use of derogatory language and creating a hostile work environment” in public comments against district police detective John Mastrianni, a district investigation recommends. Nathalie Lynch-Walsh is a frequent critic of school management. Superintendent Howard Hepburn will decide whether to follow that recommendation. Sun Sentinel.
Pasco: Non-teaching school employees reached a tentative agreement with the district last week. For some of these workers, raises will be more than 5%. All base salaries will increase by 1.25%, with an additional 2.25% for those who have worked for the district for at least one year. Another 1.9% increase will come from revenue from the district’s local optional property tax referendum, and workers in hard-to-fill positions could receive up to $2.25 more per hour. The agreement also covers the state’s mandatory pension contribution increase and continues to provide a free health insurance option for employees. The Tampa Bay Times newspaper.
Volusia: A Daytona Beach high school football game was delayed Friday when a juvenile tried to bring a firearm into the stadium. He was detected by a security guard checking bags. The boy fled but was later arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, resisting arrest and theft of a firearm. The Cocoa vs. Mainland game started about an hour late. Wesh. The FOFL. WKMG.
Clay: A vigil was held Monday and grief counselors will be available today for students and staff at Keystone High School after a student was killed in a car crash over the weekend and another was seriously injured in a separate accident last week. “Everyone is in shock and despair,” said Principal Laurie Burke. WCJB. WJXT.
Leon: A 17-year-old Rickards High School student was arrested Friday and charged with bringing a knife to school. Child Protective Services officers said the girl smelled of marijuana and they discovered the knife during a later search of her backpack. Tallahassee Democrat. WTXL.
Flag : School board members will discuss at today’s workshop whether to move forward with a proposal to require cardiac screenings for student-athletes. The district has four options to consider: screenings every year for all student-athletes; screenings only in grades 9 and 11; a single screening; and making screenings optional every year during physicals. Each option would allow parents to opt out. WKMG.
Jefferson: Teachers and other district employees did not receive their paychecks on time last week. Administrators blamed the delay on a payroll system change. Tallahassee Democrat.
Colleges and universities: University of Florida administrators hired by former President Ben Sasse and working from home in other states racked up more than $211,000 in travel expenses over 17 months, university records show. The expenses included travel to and from the UF campus and other work-related trips. Fresh Take FloridaLaura Byrd, senior vice president of Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg, has been named interim president by the board of trustees. She replaces Heather Bigard, who resigned Thursday. Daily advertisingRollins College's plans to build 30 housing units for faculty and staff were approved last week by Winter Park city commissioners. Orlando SentinelAudrey Alexander, Florida A&M University's assistant director and administrative lieutenant for security, has been named the school's chief of police. Tallahassee DemocratThe College of the Florida Keys has received a $2 million gift from the Edward B. and Joan T. Knight Foundation to help build student and staff housing on the Key West campus. Florida Keys Weekly.
State budget blues? State economists are projecting budget deficits after this year if lawmakers don’t back away from tax cuts and initiatives to improve housing, health care workers and the environment. Without change, they warn, an estimated $2 billion surplus will turn into a $2.82 billion deficit by 2026 and reach $6.94 billion by 2027. One factor cited in the changing financial picture is the rising cost of Florida’s universal education voucher program. Florida Politics.
Unions file lawsuit against law: Unions representing college professors and elementary and secondary school teachers have filed a new lawsuit challenging state law’s recent requirement that 60 percent of eligible members pay dues to maintain certification. Collective bargaining is a “majoritarian process,” the complaint alleges, and the threshold is invalid under the state constitution. “Florida has no compelling interest in restricting the collective bargaining rights of employees and labor organizations based on the fact that a supermajority of employees in the bargaining unit pay dues,” the complaint argues. Florida Press Service. More than 63,000 Florida public sector employees, including teachers, have lost union representation since the state's new restrictions were put in place in 2023, according to an analysis of public records. Fifty-four public sector unions have been decertified under the terms of Bill SB 256. WLRN.
Florida and school vaccines: According to an estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccination exemptions for children entering kindergarten in Florida increased from 1.5% in 2013 to 4.5% in 2023. That's the highest rate among southeastern states. More than 90% of the exemptions were for nonmedical religious reasons. Axios. NPR.
Across the country: Ten years after the Black Lives Matter movement began, black students are still being suspended by schools at far higher rates than their white peers, according to a study of school discipline data from multiple states. Associated PressA record 121 ransomware attacks against elementary, middle and high schools were launched in 2023, according to an analysis by a cybersecurity and online privacy product review website. K-12 DivingTwo Florida representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Anna Paulina Luna and Democrat Jared Moskowitz, have introduced a bill that would set a 3% cap on federal student loan interest. Florida PoliticsAccording to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics, about one-third of American elementary and secondary students are performing below grade level. Scripps Press Service. AxiosA North Miami Beach man has proposed a ballot measure in South Dakota that would require “daily nondenominational prayer in public schools.” Hillel Hellinger hopes the measure will be challenged in court and the U.S. Supreme Court will then overturn the 1962 decision that required prayer in schools violated the First Amendment. Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
School Reviews: School funding should be about creating a demand-driven education system, where teachers can create schools and recruit students that will be reliably funded. That’s not too much to ask: District and charter schools receive funding in exactly that way. Matthew Ladner, NextStepsThe dumping of thousands of books at New College is a wake-up call for Floridians. Kathleen Coty, Tampa Bay Times. If you do the math: Ben Sasse will end up getting paid about $3.58 million for not being president of the University of Florida, more than double the $1.4 million base salary he received for the time he actually did the job. Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post. Why did the Brevard County School Board remove a book from the library that doesn't violate the law? Because it discusses homosexuality? Then maybe the board members could focus on books featuring blacks, Jews and Latinos. John A. Torres, Florida TodayThe question of banning the giving of books to students is a question that should be raised between parents and teachers. It should not be the prerogative of the State. Michael Andoscia, Fort Myers News-Press.
