The big story: Much has been made of the Mater Academy charter school group’s recent effort to claim access to unused public school space under the auspices of new state law.
Lurking behind that effort is the growing reality that school districts continue to have an increasing amount of open classrooms available.
Officials across the state, including in Pinellas, Broward and Duval counties, have openly spoken of the need to more efficiently use their facilities. They’ve proposed consolidating, closing and “repurposing” buildings as their enrollment declines.
Pinellas has said it will begin public discussions about its future school plans later this month.
Leon County district leaders are the latest to join that conversation.
“This is real. Our numbers are dwindling, and our revenue is dwindling, and we can’t just keep talking about it, we’ve actually got to do something,” Leon school board member Alva Smith told the Tallahassee Democrat.
Smith has called for a school consolidation plan by the end of the year, with a goal of saving enough money to give teachers raises larger than the $40 per paycheck that’s currently proposed. The rest of the Leon board has said it’s open to discussions, without committing to anything. Read more from the Tallahassee Democrat.
College leadership: The regional chancellor of the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus has been named president of Texas A&M University at Victoria. • The sole finalist to lead the University of South Florida held public sessions with faculty members to discuss his goals for the school.
Crop cultivation: Highlands County school and business leaders are exploring the possibilities of growing coffee on high school campuses as part of sustainable agriculture lessons, Highlands News-Sun reports.
Field trips: The Kennedy Space Center remains a top destination for school field trips as students gain hands-on STEM experiences, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Free speech: A state House member has withdrawn her bill that would have placed additional restrictions on campus speech, amid growing opposition from student groups, FSView reports. • A Florida Atlantic University professor placed on leave over social media posts says the school hired a law firm to investigate him and other faculty members, the Palm Beach Post reports. • The Duval County school district faces a debate over the extent of employee and board member free speech, including what teachers can say online, Jacksonville Today reports.
Teacher oath: A state lawmaker has proposed legislation to require teachers to take an oath to the Florida Constitution and to nonpartisanship before taking their jobs, Florida Phoenix reports.
Teacher vacancies: Brevard County schools struggle to fill all their teaching jobs, Florida Today reports.
From the police blotter … Duval County school and police investigators are looking into allegations that a group of middle schoolers attacked a classmate in the school locker room while unsupervised, WJXT reports.
From the court docket … University of Florida trustee James W. “Bill” Heavener is accused of defrauding the government out of millions of dollars, the Gainesville Sun reports. • Four University of Florida football fans are being charged with felony trespass after rushing the field following the Gators’ win against Texas, Fresh Take Florida reports. The law was not intended to be used for this purpose. • A Miami-Dade County judge has rejected a request to immediately halt Miami Dade College’s plan to deed land to the state for Donald Trump’s presidential library, the Miami Herald reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go … Gloria Estefan seems to just get better.
Jeffrey S. Solochek is a reporter covering education as a member of the Tampa Bay Times Education Hub. You can contribute to the hub through our journalism fund by clicking here.
