Williston
Education
Florida ethics commission tosses parent complaint against Alachua County School Board member
A complaint filed by a Newberry parent over alleged misconduct by an Alachua County School Board member has been tossed out by the Florida Commission on Ethics. Parent Lindsay McKeown wrote that she believed board member Tina Certain violated Sunshine Law by making comments in private Facebook groups about a nonprofit's plans to try and convert the city of Newberry's three public schools into charter schools. According to McKeown’s complaint, school board member Sarah Rockwell is also in these groups, meaning the two may have communicated in private about an issue that could later come to a vote before the board.
What happens to students' meals if the Newberry charter conversion plan passes?
The vote on whether to convert Newberry’s three public schools to public charter schools begins this week amid many still-unanswered questions. Since launching a campaign in February to convert public schools in Newberry — Newberry Elementary, Oak View Middle and Newberry High — to public charters by 2026, Education First for Newberry has come under scrutiny for a lack of definite guarantees. There are still many things that have not been solidified, including the plan for food service programs if the schools were to become charters.
DeSantis Paves Way for Charter Schools, Limits Book Challenges
Governor DeSantis signed a bill to speed conversions of failing schools in Florida to charter schools, with a focus on poorly performing schools. The bill mandates that if a district’s plan to improve a failing school doesn’t work, the process to convert the public school to a charter needs to be simple and quick....The Florida Department of Education Annual Report Card says one percent of Florida’s schools are failing.
Newberry Education First releases its plan for teachers, staff members
The group advocating for the city of Newberry's schools to become public charters, Newberry Education First, has released its teacher packet as well as a corrected version of its staff packet. Both explain the conversion initiative and what would happen with classrooms, teachers and staff if the vote to convert...
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