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State Board of Education notifies Brevard School Board that salaries will be withheld

State Board of Education notifies Brevard School Board that salaries will be withheld

In an order from the Florida Board of Education on Tuesday, the Brevard Couty School Board was given 48 hours to either remove its mask mandate or confirm the annual salaries of board members. If the board doesn’t comply, the Florida Department of Education will withhold state funds equal to board members’ monthly salaries for each month the mask mandate remains in place. The department will also withhold funds equal to any federal grant intended to make up the loss in salaries to prevent the federal government from using COVID-19 relief funds to cover board members' salaries. [Source: Florida Today]

State school boards blast request for federal security aid

The Florida School Boards Association is refusing to pay membership dues to the National School Boards Association after the Washington, D.C.-based organization wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration that the country’s “public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat.” The National School Boards Association’s Sept. 29 letter asked that the federal government help local jurisdictions with “monitoring the threat levels” to school officials. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Education eyed to address health care worker shortages

Industry leaders warned the Senate Committee on Health Policy on Wednesday that worker shortages are driving up costs and leading to employee burnout. “Staffing has been and continues to be one of the biggest challenges,” Florida Hospital Association president and CEO Mary Mayhew told the Senate panel. “So as hospitals have the ability to bring in beds, to convert space, to convert cafeterias, to convert conference rooms --- you still have to have the nurses and the doctors to staff those beds, to meet the needs of those patients.” [Source: News Service of Florida]

App designed to save lives not popular with Florida teachers

In the two months it’s been available, only 16% of school staff have downloaded the SaferWatch app to their phones. The app is being used to comply with Alyssa’s Law, which was passed by the Florida Legislature last year to require school districts to have some sort of mobile panic button. Legislators allocated about $8 million for the program, which is free to districts as long as they use a state-approved vendor. [Source: AP News]

Delaney to become permanent Flagler president

The private St. Augustine-based college’s Board of Trustees is slated to vote on naming Former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney to the permanent position, according to school spokeswoman Beth Sweeny. Delaney, who spent 15 years as president of the University of North Florida, was hired for a one-year term as interim Flagler president. [Source: News Service of Florida]

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