DOES THE UNION MATTER? Pasco superintendent challenger Steve Donaldson has the strong backing of the teachers union, which is urging other labor groups to back him. In this anti-incumbent election cycle, the union leaders feel like they have a shot at ousting better-known incumbent Heather Fiorentino.

THE TIMES RECOMMENDS ... incumbent Hillsborough School Board member Carol Kurdell for re-election. In part: "Kurdell, 63, brings valuable experience at a critical time for the school system." Read more here.

RAISES STILL POSSIBLE: Lee officials find there's more money than originally expected available for employee pay, the Naples Daily News reports. (Of course, that's after a bunch of layoffs.)

IT TAKES A VILLAGE: Immokalee High turns to parents and the community to seek help in raising the school's F grade, the Naples Daily News reports.

SWAT SCHOOL: Hialeah Educational Academy is a new charter high school that prepares teens for jobs in law enforcement, the Miami Herald reports.

DANCING WITH THEMSELVES: A Brevard middle school cancels its annual Spirit Week dance because it can't afford the event, Florida Today reports.

ARRESTED: Six gay activists ended up in jail on trespassing charges after trying to visit Palm Beach Atlantic University, where they were told they weren't welcome, the Sun-Sentinel reports. More from the Palm Beach Post. (Photo from Palm Beach Post)

FUNDING THREAT: Florida school leaders hold their breath as they take their official student counts this week, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

LOOKING AHEAD: Sarasota begins planning cuts for 2009-10 now, to give the public plenty of time for input, the Herald-Tribune reports.

P.E. PROBLEMS: Some Leon elementary teachers have trouble implementing the state's new physical education requirements, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

SAFETY STRATEGIES: Okaloosa schools continue to improve security for students five years after a kindergartener rode his bike away from campus unnoticed and was killed in traffic, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports.

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