Saturday, May 4, 2013

NEWS RELEASE: MAY 1, 2013

May 1, 2013

New BCPS Process for Grades 6 or 9 for the 2013/14 School Year: Re-Registration Required
Parents and/or guardians of students currently in grades 5 or 8 during the 2012/13 are required to re-register their child(ren) for the 2013/14 school year.  To re-register, parents and/or guardians need to present four documents to the school the students will attend.

@BrowardSchools thanks legislature for money but asks for funds in 2013, not 2014 and flexilibity
Yesterday, the Legislature issued its Final Budget Conference Report. We appreciate that the Legislature provides more than $1 billion for K-12 education in the State of Florida. Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) share of the increase is approximately $93 million, as claimed by the Legislature.

Legislature looks to speed release of school employee raises
Florida lawmakers are looking to speed up the release of $480 million in school employee raises one day after the House and Senate negotiated a budget that proposed delaying them until June 2014…Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie, however, said earmarks from the state tied up most the new money. And when coupled with increased costs for pensions and healthcare, they would leave Broward schools with a general fund deficit. “This is an interesting game, as I see it, that’s being played,” Runcie said, and called on Scott to veto the Legislature’s conforming bill. “In some ways, I kind of liken it to a shell game.”

Teachers Pay Raise Bill Criticized
A bill to give Florida teachers a pay increase is getting mixed reviews. Gov. Rick Scott congratulated legislators, but United Teachers of Dade official Karla Hernandez-Mats feels let down by them. Miami-Dade and Broward's superintendents of schools, Alberto Carvalho and Robert Runcie, said they were appalled by the plan.

School superintendents protest Fla. teacher pay raise delay
Two South Florida education officials expressed their disappointment over state legislation that would give some teachers a pay raise, but might not go into effect until June of 2014…Broward Schools superintendent Robert Runcie also expressed his frustration by making a gambling comparison. "This is an interesting game, as I see it, that's being played," he said. "In some ways, I kind of liken it to a shell game."