'I AM LEARNING': Hillsborough board member Susan Valdes defends her $50,000 in travel expenses as part of doing her job. She's come under fire for spending one-third of the full board's travel money during her reelection campaign.

SAFETY VS. SAVINGS: Pasco school transportation specialists hit the road to evaluate which "courtesy" bus routes are needed and which can be cut. They hope to have a recommendation by next week. Volusia schools also are eliminating several bus routes, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS THREATENED: Reduced revenue is prompting Hillsborough County to scale back the programs that thousands of children attend after school.

'DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT': Ybor City activists are furious after the Tampa City Council fails to act on the protection of an historic school building, where the roof now has caved in.

AMENDMENT 5 NEWS: A Florida Tax Watch study says the "tax swap" proposal could end up costing taxpayers more money than it saves, the Palm Beach Post reports. Collier school officials have come out in opposition to the referendum, the Naples Daily News reports.

TO BE A STATE COLLEGE, OR NOT TO BE: Florida Community College at Jacksonville is the latest to explore becoming a four-year institution, the Florida Times Union reports.

AN EDUCATION REVOLUTION? In bucking state law to allow an F-rated charter school to remain open, the Broward School Board started a revolution against the state's FCAT domination, Miami Herald columnist Fred Grimm writes.

NO PLEDGE: A federal court rules that a former Palm Beach student had the right to refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school, but didn't answer the question of whether all students have that right, the Palm Beach Post reports. More here from the Associated Press.

NO MORE SPANKING: The Polk School Board removes corporal punishment as a method of student discipline, the Lakeland Ledger reports.