BARTOW The Polk County School Board is facing a showdown Tuesday, when more parents and students plan to demand a mask-free option on campuses across the district beginning immediately, with one Facebook group calling for a day of protest with less than three weeks of school left.
“The student code of conduct face covering policy requirement implemented by the PCSB should be brought to a vote and rescinded at the May 11 regular meeting,” the group No More Mask Mandate for Children stated on its private Facebook page last week.
The School Board voted unanimously last summer to add the mask mandate to the student code of conduct after listening to a panel of doctors from Nemours Children s Hospital, Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and the Florida Department of Health’s Polk County office. No one from the public spoke for or against it or emailed the board about it before the vote, held via Zoom.
Hillsborough County School leaders continue to work on financial recovery plan under tight deadline
The Hillsborough County School Board will meet Thursday to work out the district s official financial recovery plan for the state. It will address not only overstaffing issues, but what s needed to avoid a state takeover of the district s finances amid a $107M budget shortfall.
and last updated 2021-05-06 17:15:24-04
TAMPA, Fla. â Hillsborough County School leaders are working under a tight deadline to finalize a financial recovery plan in a matter of days that will address the districtâs ongoing financial crisis and help them avoid the Florida Department of Education from stepping in.
Hillsborough Schools working on financial recovery plan to submit to the Florida Dept. of Education
Deadline to submit is May 12
WFTS-TV
and last updated 2021-05-06 05:22:24-04
TAMPA, Fla. â The Hillsborough County School Board will meet Thursday to work out the district s official financial recovery plan for the state. It will address not only overstaffing issues, but what s needed to avoid a state takeover of the district s finances amid a $107M budget shortfall. This can has been kicked down the road and we ve talked about this before, said Dr. Stacy Hahn at a recent school board meeting. The board needs to address this. It will be our legacy forever.
South Florida schools say state order does not apply, masks still required in schools Michelle Marchante, Colleen Wright, and Gwen Filosa, The Miami Herald
May 4 Gov. Ron DeSantis suspension of emergency COVID-19 orders in Florida will not affect the mask policies at South Florida schools for the remainder of the school year, according to the school districts. The plans for summer and fall are not as clear.
Here s what we know:
Do kids, staff still need to wear a mask at South Florida schools?
Masks are still required for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year until further notice at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools, the Monroe County School District and the School District of Palm Beach County.
A pressing test for Hillsborough school leaders
Trust deficit compounds fiscal deficit in righting school districtâs finances
Â
Â
Hillsborough County School Superintendent Addison Davis, pictured on left and also on the video display, as he addresses the school board during a special meeting at the district s headquarters in Tampa on Friday. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
This article represents the opinion of the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board.
Published Yesterday
Updated Yesterday
Fridayâs two-hour emergency meeting of the Hillsborough County School Board went on for 120 minutes too long, but it managed to lurch, at its merciful end, toward an uneasy truce between the embattled superintendent and his increasingly impatient board. Thursdayâs letter from Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran threatening to strip the cash-strapped district of some budget authority