School closures ‘back on the table’ after CUSD parcel tax fails
Zoe Morgan/Town Crier File Photo
Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos reopened last month, above. Its district faces substantial financial challenges.
The Cupertino Union School District will once again consider permanently closing schools, along with a host of other impactful cuts, after voters rejected a parcel-tax proposal from the district last week.
Measure A would have levied a $398 annual tax on each parcel of land within CUSD’s boundaries, raising an estimated $14 million annually for the cash-strapped district. It needed two-thirds approval to pass but received only 59.34% support, as of the ballots counted by Monday afternoon (May 10) – more than 7 percentage points shy of the required margin.
A Polk County, Florida, substitute teacher had a history of complaints reporting aggressive behavior, as 10 Tampa Bay reporter Jenna Bourne discovered.
BARTOW The Polk County School Board, along with district staff, have a message for voters: “Thank you for renewing the half-cent sales tax in November 2018!”
Without the 15-year tax, they say the school district could not afford to build new schools, modernize old ones and do much-needed improvements on others. The initiative passed 68% to 32%.
As part of the district’s plan to keep people apprised of what the tax is paying for, on Tuesday, Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations Angela Usher, along with Robert Kincart, founder and president of A-C-T Environmental & Infrastructure and a member of the Sales Tax citizens oversight committee, told the School Board what they have been able to accomplish in the past two years.
LAKELAND Frederick Heid is ready to bolt from the gate once he begins his tenure as the new Polk County Public Schools superintendent after being unanimously selected Tuesday night by the School Board.
One of his first priorities, he said, is to figure out who to hire for his executive leadership board – one that currently has several openings.
“I need to understand the vacancies and why those vacancies exist,” Heid said in an early morning telephone interview a little more than 12 hours after the Polk County School Board voted 7-0 to hire him. “I’m a big proponent of homegrown talent.
Cupertino Union reopens schools over a year after closures
Jennifer Clark works with a fifth-grader at Montclaire Elementary School last week.
Students were back on campus at Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos last week, working at their desks, getting help from teachers and playing outside with friends.
The Cupertino Union School District is reopening campuses for the first time in over a year. The district’s attendance area spans six cities and includes parts of south Los Altos.
Until now, students have been taking classes from home, with the exception of small groups that have returned for in-person support.