This Florida college chose a president outside the DeSantis orbit

The big story: Pasco-Hernando State College has a new president, and it isn’t someone from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ orbit. That’s despite having state Juvenile Justice Secretary Eric Hall, a Pasco County native, on the finalist list.

Hall had been viewed in some Pasco and Hernando circles as a shoo in for the job, given the governor’s recent efforts to install supporters at other universities and colleges throughout the state.

Instead, trustees selected Jesse Pisors, who has served as a vice president at two Texas public universities, to become Pasco-Hernando’s fifth president. He will take over in January, after the retirement of Tim Beard, who has led the school since 2015. Read more here.

More in higher ed

Accreditation: The Biden Administration has asked a judge to dismiss Florida’s lawsuit challenging the federal accreditation process, News Service of Florida reports.

Board of Governors: The board is holding a 2-hour meeting via Zoom at 10 a.m. today. See the agenda here. You can tune in on The Florida Channel.

UCF: The University of Central Florida seeks to close three of its campuses because of low use, WKMG reports.

UF: Former University of Florida chief operating officer Charlie Lane, whom new president Ben Sasse fired, has landed the same job at California Institute of Technology, the Gainesville Sun reports.

K-12 hot topics

Book bans: The Pinellas County school district removed five titles from its shelves without receiving any formal complaints. The administration called for a review after some residents read graphic excerpts aloud at a board meeting.

Budgets: The chairperson of the Sarasota County School Board again voted against the district’s budget, raising concerns of an “ulterior motive” in spending on mental health initiatives, the Herald-Tribune reports.

School board politics: The Moms for Liberty group has offered a free kit offering practical campaign advice for school board candidates, Florida Today reports. • A majority on the Flagler County School Board agreed to hire an outside lawyer to help them fire the board’s longtime attorney without getting sued, Flagler Live reports. • The Sarasota County School Board has hired a consultant to help redraw board member districts, two years after its most recent redistricting, the Herald-Tribune reports. Critics said the move appeared designed to hurt a candidate looking to oust an incumbent.

Student transportation: The Alachua County School Board will hold a workshop to discuss plans to scale back bus transportation in the face of a driver shortage, Main Street Daily News reports.

Worker pay: Broward County school support staff soon will see added supplemental pay from a recently approved tax referendum, after reaching an agreement on how to distribute the money, WLRN reports.

Don’t miss a story. Yesterday’s roundup is just a click away.

Before you go ... Stumbled across this interesting TED Talk about conspiracy theories. You might find it worth a listen.

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