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Charlie Crist’s running mate gets scrutiny of her teacher union connections

A roundup of Florida education news from around the state.
 
Charlie Crist, the Democratic Party's candidate for Florida governor, and his newly announced running mate, Karla Hernández-Mats, react during a political rally at Hialeah Middle Community School on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022.
Charlie Crist, the Democratic Party's candidate for Florida governor, and his newly announced running mate, Karla Hernández-Mats, react during a political rally at Hialeah Middle Community School on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. [ MATIAS J. OCNER | Miami Herald ]
Published Sept. 1, 2022|Updated Sept. 1, 2022

The big story: Charlie Crist picked a South Florida teacher union leader as his running mate for the Governor’s Mansion. He looked to paint a bright line between his education positions and those of incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Karla Hernández-Mats energized some of the Democrat base. But she also carried some baggage that Republicans quickly pounced upon.

In particular, they pointed to her association with a former Miami-Dade County teacher who’s now in jail for sexual assault of students.

The Crist campaign downplayed the connection. But history shows that Hernández-Mats and the teacher ran on the same union leadership slate, working together until the teacher ran into his legal troubles. Read more here.

Hot topics

Employee pay: The Pasco County school district and its employee union reached an agreement on salaries that will give teachers and staff their largest raises in years.

Parental rights: Thousands of Palm Beach County students will not receive health care services from their schools as their parents have not returned consent forms to the district, the Palm Beach Post reports. • The Lee County school district updated its policies relating to parent rights. The Fort Myers News-Press spells out the latest rules.

Indoctrination allegations: Candidates for St. Johns County School Board offered different views on whether schools are infusing indoctrination messages into lessons, as parents sought clarification on what that actually means, WJXT reports.

Diversity lessons: Some teachers in Florida and elsewhere are leaving their jobs over concerns that new laws restrict their ability to teach about civil rights, diversity and related matters, ABC News reports.

Bus rides: The Lee County school district is considering changes to its student assignment policies to keep students closer to home, as a way to reduce late bus rides, WINK reports. • The Bay County school district will end bus rides for students within 2 miles of a middle school because road construction along the walking route has ended, WMBB reports.

Testing: The latest NAEP results show declining scores and widening gaps among demographic groups, USA Today reports. Officials pointed to the pandemic as a primary cause. More from Associated Press.

School board news

The Alachua County School Board will have a new majority in November. The members said they don’t expect to rush into another superintendent search, the Gainesville Sun reports. (subscription needed)

The new-look Broward County School Board quickly got to business after taking office. The board has met twice this week to tackle issues deemed critical by a grand jury, WPLG reports. It also has set a goal of earning an A grade from the state, the Sun-Sentinel reports. • Meanwhile, new member Ryan Reiter addressed abuse allegations from 2017. He said the accusations by his former fiancée were lies, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

An Okaloosa County School Board member faced allegations of several illegal actions by her election challenger. The State Attorney’s Office cleared Diane Kelley of all the accusations, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports.

A former Polk County School Board member filed an election complaint against a newly elected member. Billy Townsend claimed Rick Nolte received more than $6,000 in illegal contributions, Lakeland Now reports.

From the police blotter ... A 20-year Palm Beach County elementary school teacher was arrested on allegations of possessing child pornography, the Miami Herald reports. • A teen was arrested on allegations of bringing a loaded gun to Hillsborough High School, Bay News 9 reports.

Don’t miss a story. Here’s the link to yesterday’s roundup.

Before you go ... Gorillaz are coming to Orlando in October. They just issued a new song visualizer. Like it?

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