RETURN TO SEGREGATION: More schools would become predominantly black under a new student assignment plan that Pinellas superintendent Clayton Wilcox is pitching. He says there's nothing wrong with schools that aren't racially mixed, so long as there's equity in educational opportunity. Now, don't take this as an editorial jab, but, isn't that the same thing as favoring separate but equal, just with different words? (Times photo, 2006)

SPEAKING OF CLAYTON WILCOX: Funding issues are on his mind, too. Witness one testy e-mail to the Clearwater mayor, in which the superintendent blasts a decision to send city officials traveling while they considered cutting funds for school resource officers.

CUTTING BACK: Florida's state university system must deal with less money in the coming year, too. How? More adjunct professors instead of full-timers. Fewer course offerings. Shorter lab hours. You get the picture.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: The Pasco school district is in the midst of 128 school renovation projects. District officials are looking for even more money to pay for more items on the to-do list.

THE TAX PLAN: Lawmakers reach a deal on how to cut property taxes. They say it won't harm education in the long run. Here are a few stories on the last day of special session from the Times, Miami Herald and NY Times. The Daytona Beach News-Journal editorializes that lawmakers are gouging education.

WALKING AWAY: More than half of black males drop out before finishing high school. It's a move that many regret, the Washington Post reports.

NOTE: The Gradebook might read a little differently over the next two weeks. Hey, everyone needs a break. But the blog will remain active and up-to-date in the hands of reporter Letitia Stein, editor Richard Martin and the rest of the Times education team that will support them. Chat with you in July. Jeff