ONE WAY TO FUND RAISES: Hillsborough examines ways to limit teacher absenteeism, which cost $11-million in substitute pay last year.

A MESS IN THE MIDDLE: An effort to alter the middle school schedule in Pinellas has the teachers union threatening to file a class-action grievance just days before classes begin.

ESTEFAN FOR EDUCATION: Gloria Estefan announces her first South Florida concert in four years, a fund-raiser to support public schools that have been underfunded by the state, the Miami Herald reports.

PARENTS FOR EDUCATION, TOO: Two Jacksonville moms start 50th No More, a nonpartisan group aimed at raising funding levels for Florida schools, the Florida Times-Union reports.

REDUCED RIDES: St. Lucie schools scale back bus rides, stops and routes to deal with rising fuel costs and shrinking revenue, the Port St. Lucie Tribune reports.

EXTRA WORK: Lee educators will have more to do, but won't be getting paid for it, as they begin the new school year, the Fort Myers News-Press reports.

MORE MONEY FOR CAREER ED: The state announces a $65-million federal grant to support vocational and career education, the Fort Myers News-Press reports.

A CONTRACT BEFORE CLASSES: Santa Rosa teachers are voting on a deal that includes 1.87 percent raises, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.

TAKING IT TO THE STATE: Lake superintendent Anna Cowin - whom the School Board has asked Gov. Charlie Crist to remove - has asked the state to overturn the board's refusal to appoint an assistant principal she named, the Orlando Sentinel reports.