Cape View parents start online petition drive amid talks of consolidation with Roosevelt
The school district is considering consolidating Cape View Elementary with Roosevelt Elementary, moving the approximately 270 students from Cape Canaveral to an area that serves a younger population.
But for some parents, sending their kids to a different school would be a major unwanted change, sparking online outcry and a petition to keep the school open that's garnered nearly 2,000 signatures.
Though the district does not plan to make any decisions about the consolidation until next year, and the topic is not on the agenda for the Oct. 28 school board meeting, families still plan to rally at the meeting to ask the board to consider keeping the school open.
At a Sept. 23 work session, Sue Hann, assistant superintendent of facilities services, discussed the potential of consolidating Cape View into Roosevelt Elementary with the school board. Cape View, she said, serves an area with a shrinking school-aged population, and that trend is expected to continue.
No decisions about whether or not the school will be closed have been made yet. The district plans to collect community feedback and present it to the board in November.
Florida book ban lawsuits pile up in federal courts
Florida book removal lawsuits are piling up in federal appeals court, where judges are tasked to decide on the constitutionality of a law used to sweep classical and modern books off school library shelves, plus lawsuits related to books removed by school boards using this law.
The law in question (HB 1069) was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. It's been the talk of many of Florida's federal courtrooms over the summer. Now, multiple cases are pending an appellate ruling.
The law doesn’t just expand procedures for challenging and removing instructional materials: It also broadens state control over how sex and gender are defined and discussed in Florida schools. Further, it restricts the use of pronouns that don’t match a person’s sex at birth, and bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity through grade 8.
A federal judge ruled part of the law unconstitutional for being too vague, a decision the state is currently appealing.
Another appeal questions whether school libraries are public forums where First Amendment rights apply to book curation.
A separate lawsuit from parents argues the law is discriminatory because it only allows challenges to books that are kept, not removed.
'Political game': DeSantis slams Florida House property tax plans
Gov. Ron DeSantis has seen the Florida House’s property tax cut proposals and he’s not a fan.
In a late-night social media post on Oct. 22, DeSantis panned the eight bills released by the House earlier this month. The governor called them a political game, and not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, detailed the bills in a memo to members on Oct. 16, saying lawmakers should have “faith” in voters to decide which ballot measures to approve.
The dispute is an indication the clash between DeSantis and Perez earlier this year over tax cuts, which led to an extended regular session, will linger into next year’s legislative session.
The next 60-day session is scheduled to begin Jan. 13. The proposals from the House offer a number of property tax cuts, but they all fall short of DeSantis’ stated goal of eliminating property taxes completely for homesteaded properties.
Recap of the SpainSat NG-II SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Thursday night
On Thursday night, a Falcon 9 rocket launched the second in a pair of SpainSat NG satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpainSat NG-II consists of the second of a pair of satellites that provide X-band and military Ka-band communications for European government and military users. This marks the second launch in the series, with the initial launch of SpainSat NG-1 having taken place in January.