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Florida education news: State budget vetoes, vaping and the rush to hire teachers

A roundup of headlines from around the state.
 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, signed the state's $91.1 billions budget Friday. Some eduction projects hit the chopping block. (DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD   |   Times)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, signed the state's $91.1 billions budget Friday. Some eduction projects hit the chopping block. (DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times)
Published June 24, 2019

BUDGET: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s $91.1 billion budget Friday, vetoing a number of school projects. That included both of the major appropriations proposed for Hernando County schools, totaling $2 million, the Tampa Bay Timesreports. The University of South Florida lost out, too, according to the Times. DeSantis also cut $100,000 for upgrades Lake-Sumter State College, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

LUNCH: For the second year since Hurricane Michael, Bay County schools are receiving federal funding to provide free lunch to most students, the News Herald reports.

TURNAROUND: Fourteen of Bay County’s most-struggling schools will share $5 million and submit plans to the state to improve student performance, The Ledger reports.

EXAMS: Volusia County school leaders reconsider scoring methods for end-of-course exams, the News-Journal reports.

BAD LOOK: Palm Beach County School Board members raise concerns about poor upkeep on a school campus, the Palm Beach Post reports.

VAPING: Collier County school officials are calling vaping an “epidemic” as tobacco- and drug-related incidents are on the rise, the Naples Daily News reports.

MEMORIAL: Hundreds gathered Saturday to celebrate the life of Kameela Russell, a well-known testing proctor for a Miami-Dade high school who was murdered recently, the Miami Herald reports.

TAXES: Maintenance problems are everywhere inside Duval County schools, and a sales tax is on the table to address them, the Times-Union reports.

RAISES: Answers on teacher raises are expected this morning at the Brevard County School Board meeting, Florida Today reports.

HISTORIC BUILDING: The former Escambia County School District headquarters in Pensacola could be saved by a developer with plans for apartments, the News Journal reports.

CONSTRUCTION: St. John’s County is set to spend about $7 million on a 68-acre plot of land to build a new new high school, the St. Augustine Record reports.

HIRING: The clock is ticking as the school district in St. John’s County rushes to fill 84 teacher vacancies before the start of school, the St. Augustine Record reports.

SUMMER: Early education program Soar in 4 has expanded to two more Manatee County elementary schools to help kids meet third-grade reading goals, the Herald-Tribune reports.

ICYMI: Friday’s Florida education news roundup