JOIN THE UNION: Hillsborough schools superintendent MaryEllen Elia tells teachers "how great the union is." (Times photo, Skip O'Rourke)

FOUR-DAY WEEKS: Pasco School Board member Steve Luikart presses for a board-based committee to investigate the benefits of cutting the school week.

TWO HOURS LATER: Pinellas leaders stick with plans to start classes at Thurgood Marshall Middle at 9:30 a.m. despite parent protests.

STAYING TOGETHER? USF president Judy Genshaft aims to keep the Polytechnic campus in Lakeland as part of the system. • Other USF branches proclaim their loyalty to the system, the Lakeland Ledger reports. 

MORE THAN A FUND RAISER: The Florida PTA turns its attention to advocacy.

IPADS FOR ALL: Lake Minneola High in Lake County adopts iPads to save money on textbooks, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

BAD TIMING: Broward College's first teaching school graduates find themselves entering a market filled with layoffs and few vacancies, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

CHARTER QUESTIONS: It's not clear why Gov. Rick Scott has chosen to champion charter schools and their uneven performance, Miami Herald columnist Fred Grimm writes.

BUDGET CUTS: Miami-Dade moves ahead with plans to trim 280 jobs, but not teachers, the Miami Herald reports. • Palm Beach tentatively approves a budget that gives raises but also cuts jobs, the Palm Beach Post reports.