sarasota county schools

Sarasota, Manatee and Hernando counties will be voting to continue their current property taxes, while Pinellas is looking to double their rate to match them.

The Florida Department of Education released the 2023-24 school grades report this week. One of the highlights for the greater Tampa Bay region was Pinellas County's first districtwide A in two decades of reports.

The district is taking students and parents to truancy court to find the most hard-to-reach families in the midst of a national absenteeism crisis.

Superintendent Brennan Asplen will not be fired, but the board voted 4-1 for him to negotiate his resignation package, which according to his contract calls for at least $87,000 in severance.

Two new conservative members were sworn into office Tuesday, creating a 4-1 conservative majority.

The storm damaged buildings, flooded classrooms and left debris around campuses. Many schools also served as shelters for hurricane evacuees, and needed to be cleaned.

The district of 45,000 students has been closed for the past week due to Hurricane Ian, which made landfall on Sept. 28.

Two Sarasota County schools were still being used as shelters as of Sunday — Tatum Ridge Elementary for medically dependent evacuees and Venice High School for the general population.

COVID-19 protocols are somewhat relaxed, including optional masks, but school districts suggest students who are experiencing symptoms should stay home.

Sarasota is at least the third area school district to address bus driving shortages.

Zander Moricz said in a series of social media posts that officials told him leaders have a signal to end his speech if he references his role in the lawsuit or the movement.

The proposal would redirect $200 million from 12 school districts — including Hillsborough and Sarasota — to districts that did not require students to wear masks.