Flagler County would have lost $600,000 and 18 jobs, and disability and job-learning skills to 248 adults in the affected programs, had a Senate proposal to end funding prevailed. A public-awareness campaign led by school board member Colleen Conklin helped reverse the cuts.
Schools
Florida Moves Past No Child Left Behind, But Not Past High-Stakes Testing
Breaking from from federal No Child Left Behind strictures, Florida can now use its own school accountability system, its A-through-F school grades, to rate the state’s public education system. But the waiver comes with strings attached.
Happy 80th Birthday, Jim Guines
Just before Christmas Jim Guines, the long-time Flagler County School Board member, was hospitalized with a recurring leg ailment that may have contributed to a stroke while he was in surgery. He’s been in rehab since.
When 125 Students, Infinite Expectations and Untold Critics Encircle Teachers’ 36-Hour Day
Down time after dismissal? Summers off? Think again. Matanzas High School teacher Jo Ann Nahirny, in her latest installment from the trenches, describes permanent on-call nature of a teacher’s days and evenings.
Florida Senate Passes $70.7 Billion Budget, Cutting Higher Education By $400 Million
The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $70.7 billion spending plan for the coming budget year on Thursday, with a 33-6 vote, setting up a two-week window for negotiating with the House’s smaller budget.
Flagler School Board Balks Over New Teacher Contract; Union President Calls It “Bad Faith”
After a closed-door meeting, the Flagler school board ratified a new contract with its teacher union minus a crucial portion defining teacher evaluations, causing a breach with the union just as the two sides are planning next school year.
Flagler School District Mobilizing Against 18 Job Cuts and Lost Services to Disabled Adults
Flagler County is in danger of losing several programs that train and help the disabled find self-sustaining jobs as the Florida Senate ends funding for those programs. The cuts would affect 248 adult in the county, including 36 students in the transition program for 18 to 22 year olds.
Women’s Wrestling as Inspiration: “Miracle Worker” at FPC’s Black Box Theatre Tonight
The story of Hellen Keller and Annie Sullivan, with FPC junior Agata Sokolska and senior Leana Gardella in the title roles, is director Kelly Nelson’s valentine to inspiration. The play will be staged Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Amelia Earhart, Gandhi, Einstein and Betsy Ross All Rise Again in Wadsworth’s History Day
Wadsworth Elementary’s “Who’s Who in History” day Tuesday drew on school staffers and community “celebrities” to perform dozens of historical figures, alive and dead, in a culmination of school-wide biography projects focused on the figures.
School Prayer Bill Clears House Hurdle as Florida Legislature Appears Poised to Bow
Local school boards would be responsible for enabling prayer measures. Should it become law, the bill would make Florida an outlier state with regard to school-prayer permissiveness and almost certainly trigger court action.