K-12 Funding and Administration

Lake County School Board Would Rather Ban All School Clubs Than Allow A Gay Club

Bayli Silberstein wanted to start a Gay-Straight Alliance Club at her school, Carver Middle School in Leesburg, Florida. Basically the 14-year-old wanted to create a school club where her friends who had been "bullied for their sexual orientation"could have a place to talk about such things, and g ... More >>

Sorry, the Allen West Vocational Night School is Only a Dream Now; Broward Schools No Longer Named After the Living

Yup, this means the Rick Scott Embalming Academy, Marco Rubio Junior High and the Chris Bosh Ballet and Tap School are all back on the shelf for the next couple of decades (hopefully) -- at least in Broward County. After some past missteps in the Thickheaded Public Policy Department, the Broward sch ... More >>

Florida Prayer in Schools Bill Passes House, Going to the Governor

​Joyous news, proselytizers of the world -- if Gov. Rick Scott signs the bill that the Florida House passed moments ago, Florida public school districts will now totally have the ability to allow prayer in public schools.The bill, SB 98, doesn't explicitly allow prayer in schools, but it does ... More >>

Senate Committee Passes Bill Mandating Schools Teach About 9/11

​A state Senate bill mandating all Florida public schools teach students about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, passed an education committee this morning.SB 1422 seeks to add "the events surrounding the terrorist attacks occurring on September 11, 2001, and the impact of those ev ... More >>

Florida Senate Passes Bill Allowing Prayer in Schools; Vote Isn't Even Close

​The state Senate passed SB 98 this afternoon by a 31-8 margin, paving the way for public school districts to allow student prayer in school. The bill would allow "student volunteers to deliver inspirational messages, including but not limited to, prayers of invocation or benediction," according t ... More >>

Leon County School Board Approves New Mavericks High School

​Perhaps the people in Tallahassee don't read much on the interwebs. Or maybe they don't mind entrusting their kids' education to a team of real estate developers. Whatever the reason, the Leon County School Board has decided to approve a new Mavericks High charter school.Mavericks in Education Fl ... More >>

Mavericks High Schools Hope to Profit From Education – But at What Cost?

Palm Beach School Board Member Chuck Shaw's Ties to Mavericks Charters

pr.comFrank Biden joined other Mavericks employees in donating to Shaw's campaign.​When the Palm Beach County School Board approved a new Mavericks High charter school this February, one board member abstained from the vote. Chuck Shaw, the former principal of the JFK Medical Center Charter School ... More >>

UPDATED: Joe Biden's Brother Is President and "P.T. Barnum" for SoFla Charter School Chain

UPDATE: The Palm Beach County School Board's vote on three new Mavericks schools has been postponed. Read more after the jump.When owners of a for-profit charter school chain go before the Palm Beach County School Board tomorrow night seeking approval for three new high schools, they'll have a celeb ... More >>

Broward and Palm Beach Schools Identified in Possible FCAT Cheating

caribeexams.org​Schools in the Broward and Palm Beach school districts have been asked to determine whether cheating occurred on Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test in their schools, according to the Florida Department of Education.Deborah Higgins, an information specialist for the Florida Dep ... More >>

Bob Norman's Greatest Hits

Bob Norman is not a man to gloat, so we're doing it for him. During his 13 years as a writer at this periodical (four as feature writer, nine as a columnist, five of those nine as the Daily Pulp blogger), he has had a rash of successes -- especially if you count sending corrupt public officials to ... More >>

School Board Pay Comes Under Attack

Wild Art: A recent photo of disgraced Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, who continues to represent the county on state and national boards after being implicated as a player in the Chait scandal. This comes from a just-released video from the Florida Association of Counties aimed at prote ... More >>

"Frantic" Tallahassee Battle: School Board Thwarts State Control

When the Florida Senate prepared earlier this week to take direct oversight of the dysfunctional Broward County School Board earlier this week, the board's lobbyist, Georgia Slack, went into overdrive. Slack​Slack wrote in an email to Board members that she began "frantic lobbying" and engage ... More >>

UPDATED: Superintendent Jim Notter To Step Down

Broward County School Board Jim Notter is finally hitting the road ​ ​ WSVN ​UPDATED: Embattled Broward Schools Supt. Jim Notter announced today at the end of the board meeting that he is retiring from his post at the end of the school year. It's the first s ... More >>

School Board Diversity Chair Calls For Murray's Resignation In Email

When confronted at yesterday school board meeting about her use of a racial slur, Broward County School Board Member Ann Murray didn't respond and then "slipped out the door," according to the Miami Herald.  The newspaper followed up on the report here about Murray's written reprimand for using ... More >>

Activist Calls For Ann Murray To Resign

Broward School Board Member Ann Murray has yet to publicly comment on the reprimand she received for allegedly making a racist remark, but she did try to answer questions from Freda Stevens, a political activist and and chairwoman of the Democratic Black Caucus of Broward County, about th ... More >>

The Sun-Sentinel's Sobering Centennial

Wild Art: Jennifer Gottlieb, member of the embattled Broward School Board, is hanging in there. ​Slow news day, more reporting to do, but I want to update you on the school board member who allegedly used a racial slur in front of several witnesses (and no, it's not JenJen). I'm getting the ... More >>

Recall Rick Scott Protest Hits Downtown

Anti-Rick Scott protester at federal courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale yesterday. Activist Tammy Lettieri estimates that 1,300 people showed up for the rally. ​Here are some questions I hope to answer in the next several days: -- Who is the Broward County School Board member who, prior t ... More >>

Gay, Bi, and Transgendered Students Get Protection From Bullying in Broward County

If Hogwarts were in Broward, Harry would be safe to express himself.​If RuPaul were still in high school, guarantee he'd want to be in Broward County -- now Florida's largest school district has added "gender identity and expression" to its nondiscrimination policy.With its unanimous vote Tue ... More >>

Grand Jury Report: School Board Blew Hundreds of Millions of Taxpayers Dollars While In Lobbyists' Pocket

Well, it's finally official. The Broward County School Board wasted hundreds of millions of your dollars while doing the bidding of a select group of contractors and lobbyists. You've been reading about that here for the past five years. Now the statewide grand jury has found the same thing.&n ... More >>

State Slightly Reduces Broward County Class Size Penalties

​After Broward County school district's appeal of the state-imposed penalty for violating class size restrictions, Florida Department of Education Commissioner Eric Smith recommended that the county's penalty be reduced by $74,000 to $2.9 million -- a slight break he delivered on Tuesday, though l ... More >>

UPDATED: Charges Brought In Ynot Case

​ ​ Ynot with son Max just days prior to his death​ UPDATED: The SAO just announced that it has filed charges in the case of graffiti artist Jonathan "Ynot" Corso. The release: The Broward State Attorney's Office has charged Reynaldo Rodriguez, 32, with vehicular homicide in ... More >>

Former School Board Construction Chief Talked of "Machine"

When we stop to remember Michael Garretson, we should never forget that the late School Board construction chief led the spending of a billion dollars a year in what was one of the largest and most damaging school building booms in Broward County history. For ... More >>

RIP, Leslie Nielsen

Some of the best moments from one of Fort Lauderdale's finest.   -- Stephanie Kraft's path: Lawyer. PTA mom. School Board member. Tool for special interests. Corrupt tool for special interests. Scandalous politician. Criminally charged politician. Jailbird for a day. Suspended S ... More >>

House Pro Tem Investigated for Homestead Fraud

Florida House Democratic Caucus Gibbons in Tallahassee ​State Rep. Joe Gibbons, who has been named the number-two Democrat in the Florida Legislature, was investigated for homestead fraud earlier this year -- and government records indicate he lied to officials during the probe.  ... More >>

UPDATED: Criminal Complaint Filed In The Case Of the Crushing Handshake

In one of the more bizarre twists we've seen to an already wild election season, a School Board candidate says she was injured in a post-debate handshake that bruised her hand and ultimately led to a hospital visit. Levine​School Board candidate Jaemi Levine said that after last night ... More >>

Yes On Amendment 8; More On School Board Leak Scandal

Time to talk about Amendment 8 real quick. Vote for it. ​Amendment 8 is the one that is going to give Florida school boards a little more flexibility on class sizes that were mandated by the 2002 class-size amendment. Since then the legislature has appropriated about $18 billion to fund tha ... More >>

UPDATED: Leaked Confidential School Board Document Used in Campaign Smear

[UPDATED: Just received word from Broward School Board governmental affairs specialist Requel Bell that the sensitive school board background check document being used in the smear campaign against School Board Member Phyllis Hope is indeed exempt from public record disclosure. That means ... More >>

Last School Board Leak Cost Taxpayers Big

Wild Art: Fox News-loving Republican Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi at the firing range​The apparently illegal leak of classified FBI information regarding Broward County School Board Member Phyllis Hope isn't the first time the school district has been caught in a political ... More >>

[UPDATED] Election Was a Campaign Consultants' Battle Royal; So Who Are Winners and Losers?

Flickr: eschipul​In the months before yesterday's election, Broward candidates lined up behind campaign rainmakers who possessed extraordinary powers for rounding up votes. Of course, they would share these powers only if the price was right. Since incumbents could outraise their challengers, incu ... More >>

A Dirty Job: Broward School Board Member Ann Murray Offers Poor Residents a Low Wage to Stand at Poll

Photo: Broward County School DistrictAnn Murray​For folks in a low-income section of Hollywood, it's hard to pass up a chance to make $50 -- even if it means standing outside in 95-degree heat for 12 hours holding up a campaign sign. And that, say sources in South Hollywood, is the offer being dan ... More >>

Attorneys Describe Legal Maneuvers by School District, Board Members After Gallagher Was Charged

Beverly Gallagher​In the weeks that followed the announcement last September that Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher had been busted for taking bribes in an FBI sting, several of her colleagues got anxious. So did the school district administration. "The FBI was asking a lot ... More >>

[UPDATED] Broward School Board Member Phyllis Hope Let Taxpayers Pick Up Her Legal Tab

Phyllis Hope​During a year when state and federal investigators have been circling the Broward County School Board, it seems as though every member of that ethically challenged outfit would have reason to keep a personal attorney close by. But only one school board member had the nerve to give her ... More >>

Educating Maria

On L.A.'s Skid Row, a generational war over how to teach the American children of illegal immigrants

Morning Juice: Geller Denies Role in Gunzburger Investigation; Gallagher Off to Prison

​A look at what's happening in South Florida this Friday morning:On the same day that Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger accused her opponent, Steve Geller, of a dirty campaign trick, Geller admitted having "a number of conversations" with Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, whose office is inves ... More >>

Sue Gunzburger Ensnared by Corruption Probe

Photo: C.StilesSue Gunzburger​The Broward Sheriff's Office is getting mighty ambitious with its corruption investigation. The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger is a target of agency investigators who are looking at deals that her husband's company made with Broward ... More >>

Morning Juice: Prison for Bev Gallagher; Oil Nears Panhandle

​Here's a glance at what's in the local headlines:It's not quite the Miracle on the Hudson, but a small plane made a safe emergency landing in a field just short of the Fort Lauderdale airport's runway. It narrowly missed hitting a home. [WPLG-5]Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher ... More >>

Morning Juice: Boynton Family Battles Stingy Insurer; Murder Near West Palm Park

​A rundown of local news items on this Wednesday morning:A Boynton Beach family is devastated by an insurance company's decision to renege on a guarantee that it would pay for the residential treatment of Ryan Crofutt, 25, who needs treatment for brain damage and was prepared to receive therapy at ... More >>

Citizens for National Security Finds Islam Propaganda in Florida Textbooks

Dr. William Saxton, saving Florida children's hearts and minds from Islam​Dr. William Saxton is sitting at a Starbucks in West Boca Raton, clutching a bulging black briefcase. But he's having trouble concentrating on our conversation. He keeps looking around for a better table. "I'd prefer to have ... More >>

Gallaher Pleads; Expects Prison Sentence of Three Years, One Month

Gallagher​A family with the name Gallagher ought to be celebrating on a day like today. But not the family of former Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher. This afternoon she entered a guilty plea to a charge of accepting a bribe from an undercover agent and expects to receive a pri ... More >>

Morning Juice: Salesman Not Buying FBI's Case; Embattled Palm Beach School Official Stripped of Duty

​Here's what in the local news this morning:Local targets of the FBI corruption sting were apparently unimpressed by the case that was made against them. The same day that former Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher entered a not guilty plea to selling her office, former Miramar Co ... More >>

Morning Juice: Dolphins Get Hosed in Tennessee; Gallagher Looks Trial-Bound in Corruption Case

​It's Christmas week. And here's what's in the news in Broward and Palm Beach:The Dolphins staged an amazing comeback yesterday in Tennessee, only to have their inspired effort wrecked by a bullshit call against Greg Camarillo. [NFL.com]Adderley elaborated on his statement last week about Rothstei ... More >>

Morning Juice: Lantana Police Make a Deposit to Jail

​What's going on in South Florida? Well, this:As Juice insomniacs already know, our local obsession, the so-called Withdrawal Bandit, has finally been caught! Police believe it's Glenn Hooper, a 53-year-old Hollywood man who went to the well one too many times. Lantana police also busted Hooper's ... More >>

Morning Juice: A Bloody Mess in Local School Boards

​A tour of South Florida headlines on this Friday morning:The state appears to be question the finances of the state's blood banks, including the local Community Blood Centers, where disgraced Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher landed work with the help of a lobbyist. [Sun-Sentin ... More >>

Morning Juice: One School Board Wrestles With Corruption; the Other With Curriculum

​The headlines in Broward and Palm Beach:Investigators are circling Bruce Chait of Prestige Homes -- and not just for the developer's hiring of Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft's husband. Tamarac Mayor Joe Schreiber has alleged that Chait offered a $200,000 bribe in exchange for Mae Sch ... More >>

Morning Juice: Which Kraft Gets Paid and Which Kraft Gets to Vote?

​Let's look at what's in the news this morning:Big, big trouble for Broward County School Board member Stephanie Kraft. New Times' Bob Norman has confirmed that Kraft's husband, Mitch, took payments from Prestige Homes to negotiate a deal with the district for the mitigation fees associated with t ... More >>

Morning Juice: Adventures in Bad Parenting

Time to get your Monday on. But first, a look back on what made news this past weekend.​Tamarac mayoral candidate Ed Portner gave a short interview to WPLG about why he went over to his daughter Stacy Ritter's home with a gun last week: "I wanted to scare the crap out of her." Mission accomplished ... More >>

Inside the Arrest of Broward School Board's Beverly Gallagher

Broward School Officials Conspired to Build $395 Million in Unnecessary Classrooms

Joe Badran is supposed to help keep Broward County schools diverse, but Americans Against Hate says he supports Hamas and terrorism