Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Joe HendersonFebruary 1, 2017

If there was any uncertainty what the main event will be in the 2017 Florida Legislature, that has been answered. It’s the throw down over the “T” word. In one corner, Gov. Rick Scott is seeking an $815 million increase in public school funding. To help pay for that, the governor wants to use the […]

Tom JacksonSeptember 20, 2016

Now that the Florida Education Association has chosen to appeal its legal double-drubbing over the state’s scholarship program for students from low-income families, the question that leaps immediately to mind is this: Why does the teachers’ union hate poor kids? Seriously. About 92,000 students from modest circumstances are attending private schools through the 15-year-old Florida […]

Lloyd DunkelbergerJuly 7, 2016

Lawmakers will have to accommodate an additional 31,000 public school students when they craft a new state budget in the spring. A new forecast approved Thursday by state economists and analysts shows 2.84 million students will be in the pre-kindergarten through high school system beginning in the fall of 2017. It represents a 1.1 percent increase over […]

Associated PressMay 24, 2016

A judge on Tuesday tossed aside a major lawsuit that contended the state is shortchanging its public school students, arguing that the groups and parents who have brought the challenge failed to show evidence of a crisis that required the courts to step in. Circuit Judge George Reynolds also questioned whether or not he even […]

Guest AuthorApril 13, 2016

We need a growing economy that works for all Floridians, not just the wealthy and well connected. But all too often our state lawmakers put large campaign donors, corporate special interests and ideological extremism above the needs of everyday Floridians. Fortunately there are some silver linings among the dark clouds of big-money influence that hang […]

Associated PressMarch 14, 2016

A potentially far-reaching trial that will determine whether the Florida Legislature is shortchanging public schools is starting in a Tallahassee courtroom. In the lawsuit filed six years ago, education groups and parents from Duval and Pasco counties contend the Legislature and state officials have not provided enough money to the state’s schools as required under […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 4, 2016

What do school grades really mean this year? It’s a question I’ve been asked whenever I meet parents, employees, and attend community events. The way the state is calculating school grades for the 2014-2015 school year only, is very different than it has been in years past, or will be in future years. The state has always touted […]

Jac VerSteegFebruary 2, 2016

Florida public schools have arts magnets, science magnets, language arts magnets, foreign language magnets, and on and on. Why not have sports magnets as well? The Florida Legislature is considering bills to greatly expand “choice” for student-athletes and, incidentally, students who participate in other extracurricular activities. Examples are SB 684 and HB 7039. Changes to […]

Gary FineoutJune 23, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday ended the state’s biggest budget crisis in more than two decades by signing a more than $78 billion budget into law, but he may have created another divide with some of his fellow Republicans. Scott signed the budget just days after the Florida Legislature approved it during an unusual June […]

Phil AmmannJune 19, 2015

A final vote on the near $79 billion budget Friday afternoon brought a disappointing end to Florida’s 2015 Legislative Session, according to House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford. “I think of all the missed opportunities,” said the West Palm Beach Democrat, who faces term limits in 2016. “As much as this budget funds many good programs and […]

Tag: public schools

Rick Scott, Legislature set for an old-fashioned ‘T’ word throwdown

Tom Jackson: Appeal puts poor students under FEA’s boot

Lawmakers faced with burgeoning student enrollment growth when crafting budget

Florida public schools getting enough money, judge rules

Mark Ferrulo: ‘Middle Class Champions’ stand tall in Tallahassee

Failing grade? Trial over Florida’s schools finally starts

Jeff Eakins: School grades just one part of whole education picture

Jac VerSteeg: Time for sports magnet schools?

Gov. Rick Scott signs state budget in private, averts government shutdown

House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford laments ‘missed opportunities’ in budget