Millions of dollars in education funding for Florida withheld
More than 6 billion dollars in federal education grants, which were expected to be made accessible to state education departments on July 1st, are in limbo.
States and territories recently discovered that billions of dollars of funding for education are not available for the foreseeable future.
According to the Learning Policy Institute, a nonprofit education policy research group, the U.S Department of Education told states that decisions have not yet been made for submissions and awards related to the upcoming school year.
States were not told if or when the funding would become available.
The over 6 billion dollars is meant for programs geared toward education for migrant students, and after-school and English-language programs.
The funding for those programs accounts for 15 percent of the funding Florida receives from the DOE.
Brevard schools get an “A”
The state has issued report cards for each of Florida’s 67 public school districts. And the number of “A” rated schools has increased 6%. Rick Glasby has details:
The state calculates the scores using student math, science, reading, and social studies assessment scores, and graduation rates. Brevard Public Schools received an “A” rating. No school districts in the state received a D or F this year.
New Fence
Construction will begin today for a new safety fence surrounding the newly installed inclusive playground at Fred Poppe Regional Park, on Malabar Road.
Construction of the fence is expected to take approximately two weeks. While the surrounding area will be an active construction site, the playground will remain open to the public during the project.
Religious Leaders Ask DeSantis to Pause Executions
Several religious leaders from across Florida marched to the state capitol Tuesday, calling on Governor Ron DeSantis to pause executions.
The state is on pace to break a record of eight executions in a year.
Florida has executed seven men this year and is slated to execute Michael Bell on July 15th in the 1993 murders of two people in Jacksonville.
Another man, Edward Zakrzewski, is slated to be executed July 31st at Florida State Prison for three death sentences in the murders of his wife and children.
If Bell and Zakrzewski are put to death by lethal injection, the state would break a modern record of eight executions set in 1984 and 2014.
Father Dustin Feddon is with Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Tallahassee.
“I am here as a citizen of Florida, as a concerned citizen, of the dramatic increase in the signing of death warrants and executions that are currently happening in our state.”
Florida has executed 113 people since 1976.
There are currently 269 people on Florida’s death row.
The oldest death row inmate is 81.
The youngest is 28.
Lifeguards rescue a deer from the ocean
Last weekend, lifeguards at Flagler Beach rescued a deer spotted struggling about 300 yards offshore near the pier. Beachgoers watched in disbelief as the animal, which had been in the water for roughly an hour and a half, was brought to shore using human rescue techniques.
The lifeguards, who had never encountered such a situation before, straddled the deer across a rescue board to bring it back safely, all while remaining alert for sharks. Wildlife expert James Kroll suggested the deer may have entered the ocean to escape a threat, especially amid the noise and crowds of the Fourth of July weekend.
More: www.floridatoday.com
