Flagler County's Public School System rolled out the red carpet for the Florida Board of Education meeting. As far as anyone can remember, it's the first time the state BOE has held a regular meeting in the county, so local education leaders wanted to highlight the strides the district has made with technology in the classroom.
It's the type of thing board members want to see statewide. But they're concerned proposed per-student funding may not survive in the special session beginning June 1.
One of their first actions was to approve a proclamation urging lawmakers to keep that student funding in place.
“I think it is important for us to take it on as that priority and make the legislature aware that it is a priority,” said Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.
Flagler County's Superintendent Jacob Oliva was able to speak to the board about the advances this relatively small district has made, in spite of repeated funding cuts.
He can't wait until the day full funding comes his way. “When we are able to get some of these revenues back, we can invest back into the programs that we know are good for our students, that will align with our vision of everybody graduating, at 100 percent.”
But that goal could be curtailed if Tallahassee takes away that funding.
Commissioner Stewart believes the majority of districts have cut away all the fat over the years. “As we've had economic difficulties in the state of Florida, districts have cut back on those things that they felt that they could eliminate and now they know where can we put our money and get our best return on investment and they are good stewards of our monies.”
But with so much expected to be packed into the special session, Vice-Chair John Padget worries funding for education may be lost in it all.