Latest news with #JakeStofan
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida lawmakers looking to backtrack on cuts to Advanced Placement, IB and AICE courses
Bonus funds offered to school districts for students who pass advanced and career technical courses may no longer be at risk. Action News Jax State and Local Government Reporter Jake Stofan was first to highlight the revised proposal included in the Senate's latest K-12 budget offer. For months, students have been raising concerns about the legislature's plan to cut the awards in half and calling on lawmakers to maintain funding at current levels. Now, Senate K-12 Appropriations Chair Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) has explained the bonus dollars will be fully funded. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Those dollars will however be split up, with districts permitted to spend 20 percent of the funds on discretionary spending, while 80 percent will go into a new categorical fund reserved for teacher bonuses, school bonuses and other district incentives. 'Basically, we are staying the course with how things are now, reverting from our original position during regular session and we're simply putting that money into a categorical that way we can just account for it more. But the same amount of money will be there,' said Burgess. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] House K-12 Budget Chair State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers) also spoke to reporters after Tuesday evening's budget conference meeting. She indicated the House is also considering a categorical option like the Senate, though the two sides still need to agree on a final plan. 'By creating a categorical, we have transparency. You know what that pot of money looks like, and then we're looking at making sure we allocate that in a way that equates to what would be allocated using the add-on weight method,' Persons-Mulika said. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why Florida lawmakers want to slash AP funding and why education groups say the math doesn't add up
When a student passes AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), and AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) exams, or succeeds in career prep or Dual Enrollment classes, school districts get bonus funds meant to help cover the higher costs of the college prep courses. But the bonus money would be slashed in half under the current budgets proposed by the Florida House and Senate. Action News Jax's Jake Stofan has been digging into the debate surrounding the cuts and the claim made by lawmakers that schools won't lose any money. During a committee hearing on April 3, House sponsor Jenna Persons-Mulika (R-Fort Myers) defended the cuts. RELATED: 'Absorbed like a sponge': Local students are fighting proposed state education cuts She argued a Department of Education survey found districts have become too reliant on the bonus payments to fund the programs. 'They're using these add on weights to pay that 40 to 64 percent. So that leads me to ask, where are the FEFP funds that are generated by every student going? They should be following the student to whatever course the student chooses,' Persons-Mulika said. Read: 'Decimate our high schools': Parents concerned over Florida House Bill 5101 But Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar argued the DOE survey was flawed. 'These questions weren't really clear and therefore didn't give an accurate picture of what was happening in districts and lawmakers have acted based on that,' Spar said. Republican lawmakers claim, despite the cuts to the bonus payments, school districts will still end up with more funding overall this year. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] State Senator Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) argued on the Senate floor the extra money from the bonuses will simply be shifted into the base student allocation. 'It's not at the expense of ACE or AP or the accelerated programs, it is in addition to, and now we can utilize these additional funds that would have otherwise not been utilized and put them to something else,' Burgess said. But Spar notes with the House only proposing a $62 per-student boost this year and the Senate proposing an extra $135, the funding increase proposed this year is far less than the $240 and $404 increases approved in the last two years. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] He argued districts will now be forced to choose whether to pay to keep the lights on to keep up with inflation, or fund their advanced placement programs. 'The reality is if we divert those dollars back to those programs, we don't have that new money. It's not new money,' Spar said. Spar said he fears if lawmakers don't reverse course on the cuts or come up on this year's per-student funding increase, districts may be forced to reduce how many college prep options they can offer, cut staff and consolidate classes, or even charge parents fees to cover the additional costs of the courses. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
WATCH LIVE: Continuing coverage of active shooter situation at Florida State University
Action News Jax has continuing coverage of an active shooter situation on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee. We have learned that the FBI Jacksonville and the Tallahassee Resident Agency are on scene, as well as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Click the link above to watch our continuing coverage, or watch the video below. Reporter Jake Stofan is headed to Tallahassee to get the latest information. ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATION AT FSU WATCH: Live video from the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee as police respond to an active shooter Posted by Action News Jax on Thursday, April 17, 2025 [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan will not sign, will not veto City Council's immigration bill
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan announced Wednesday that she will not sign, nor will she veto, an immigration bill passed by the City Council last week. She was surrounded by a dozen faith and immigrant leaders as she made the announcement. Without her signature, the legislation will go into effect Tuesday. You can watch the news conference below: JACKSONVILLE MAYOR SPEAKS ON IMMIGRATION BILL WATCH: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, community leaders speak about City Council's immigration act Posted by Action News Jax on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 Action News Jax's Jake Stofan will have the latest updates on CBS47 and FOX30 Action News Jax at 5. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
