The big story: As Florida school districts grapple with declining enrollment, officials are paying close attention to birth rates.
They’re not offering much hope.
Across Florida, as in much of the nation, the birth rate is at an historic low of 1.6 children per woman, and shrinking. Fewer babies today means fewer kindergartners five years later.
It’s a trend that’s been playing out in Pinellas County, which is closing two schools next year with more expected. It’s even taking a toll on districts where growth might be anticipated, such as Miami-Dade County.
The changes are impacting how schools do business, with families having a growing number of education options.
“ When the district was a monopoly, when we were the only really K-12 player in town, other than a few private schools, it was really easy to do projections because we knew exactly how many kids we were going to have,” Miami-Dade district chief financial officer Ron Steiger told WLRN. Read more here.
Hot topics
Outdoor education: Three Duval County schools are part of a new initiative aimed at getting kids off computers and into nature, Jacksonville Today reports.
Family planning: This Volusia County school helps prepare teen parents for family life and education, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
Expansion plans: A plan to convert an Alachua County middle school into a K-8 campus is drawing complaints and concerns over potential traffic and stormwater management problems, MainStreet Daily News reports.
Data on schools: Florida State University has revamped its website that provides data about the state’s schools, including information about graduation rates and spending, Florida Phoenix reports.
Cameras in school zones: Charlotte County has begun fining drivers caught speeding by cameras in school zones, ending a period when it only issued warnings, WWSB reports.
Number of the day
12,600 — That’s the number of teachers the Broward County school district currently employs, according to Broward Teachers Union president Anna Fusco. “We started in July with 13,700. You do the math.” Fusco is pressuring her school board to commit all revenue from a proposed local-option property tax referendum to teacher pay, as a way to improve retention. Read more from WPLG.
Quick quiz
There’s an emergency conference call meeting of the State Board of Education scheduled for 10 a.m. today. What’s the emergency?
a) A district has fallen into financial disarray
b) The board wants to speed implementation of a new Trump Administration order
c) Education commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas wants to talk about priorities for an upcoming legislative special session
If you guessed (a), you’re close. It’s actually two districts — Glades and Union counties — that are now facing financial emergency with their general fund balances having fallen below 2%. To learn more, the Conference Call number is 1-800-330-6730, and the Passcode is 597246.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
The Tampa Bay Times Education Hub reports on Florida’s schools and universities and the students they serve. You can contribute to the hub through our journalism fund by clicking here.
