Federal education bailout is not the answer, Heritage Foundation

December 12, 2008
By Dan Lips

Earlier this week, leaders of the Miami-Dade school system and Broward County school board in Florida called on the federal government to provide a "bailout" for the area's ailing school districts.[1]

The lagging economy has resulted in declining tax revenues and ballooning budget shortfalls for many state governments and local communities across the nation. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently reported that state governments are facing $137 billion in budget gaps over a two year period.[2] Thirty-eight states expect budget shortfalls for the 2009 fiscal year.[3]

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School board anticipating more budget woes, Tampa Tribune

December 12, 2008
By Ronni Blair

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco County School Board members will deal with more than just their current $8.7 million shortfall when they meet Tuesday in a budget workshop to review the school district's financial woes.The board also will be bracing for a 2009-10 budget year that's expected to be even worse than the current one.Superintendent Heather Fiorentino and her staff put together a list of potential spending cuts that was distributed to school board members Friday.

The list includes a Plan A to deal with the current shortfall, a Plan B to deal with an anticipated shortfall of $10 million to $15 million that could be coming in the last five months of this fiscal year, and a Plan C that looks toward 2009-10.

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Leaders say big shortfall calls for big fix, Herald Tribune

December 12, 2008
By Jeremy Wallace


Florida's budget crisis has grown so severe that some state legislators are abandoning their long-held resistance to tax increases or severe program-altering budget cuts.

So far this year and in the past two years, legislators have avoided such politically painful alternatives by tapping into reserve funds and considering quick fixes like expanded gambling to bolster the economy.

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UF endowment's $104 million loss another hard hit, Palm Beach Post

December 11, 2008
Kimberly Miller


The University of Florida's endowment was down $103.6 million during the first three months of the 2009 fiscal year, and without a significant market rebound, school officials predict cuts to scholarships, research and academic programs paid for by the account.

The 8.3 percent drop in UF's $1.25 billion endowment, the largest endowment among Florida's public universities, is mirrored nationwide and couldn't come at a worse time for schools, many of which are dealing with considerable state budget cuts.

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Progress Florida launches SackSanson.com

December 11, 2008

Progress Florida today launched www.SackSansom.com in response to overwhelming response from an online poll asking if newly elected State House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin) should be held accountable for his "cash and carry" style of "leadership."

On the same day Sansom was named the new Speaker of the House it was announced he had landed a six-figure salary job at Northwest Florida State College (formerly Okaloosa-Walton Community College). Further reporting revealed that earlier this year, in the midst of a state budget crisis, Sansom quietly steered $25 million to the college even though officials had only requested $1 million.

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Schools expecting more cuts, Bradford County Telegraph

December 11, 2008

by Mark J. Crawford, editor

A recent revenue estimating conference has confirmed the worst about additional budget cuts for the current school year, according to Julie Tinsler, the school districts finance director.Tinsler read e-mail excerpts to the school board Monday night from Joy Frank of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and Ruth Melton of the Florida School Boards Association, both groups who lobby for public school interests in Tallahassee.

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Florida No. 2 in foreclosure activity, Orlando Business Journal

December 11, 2008

November Foreclosure activity in Florida fell by nearly 10 percent, but it was still high enough to hold the No. 2 spot in the nation, according to a report released Dec. 11 by RealtyTrac.

Despite a decrease of 9.45 percent in foreclosure activity from October, it was 68 percent higher than what was recorded in November 2007.

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