News & Public Affairs
Pinellas teachers give school board an earful listen
05/28/08 Arielle StevensonWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County School Board, Education, Budget Cutbacks, Tallahassee, State, Local
The Pinellas County school board meeting last night was crowded with students being honored for their achievements, their proud parents holding cameras and the teachers who helped them along the way. But the largest group was the 50 or so teachers, dressed in dark colors to symbolize their frustrations with proposed pay cuts and closing schools.
Kim Black, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, says that even Texas, another state with no income tax, didn’t increase their...
Be the first to commentUSF St. Pete chancellor shoulders budget cuts listen
05/28/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Education, Budget cuts
As the result of a current deficit of nearly $36 million, the University of South Florida last week announced plans to cut $50 million by eliminating about 450 jobs.
President Judy Genshaft said she plans to lay off about 70 employees in the coming weeks, with the rest of the eliminated jobs already vacant.
As part of the budget cuts, USF will also make some structural changes. Within the College of Arts and Sciences, the administration and operating expenses for smaller departments, s...
Be the first to commentThe Tax Cut Myth
05/21/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: budget cuts, budget, debt credit cards, education, taxes
Ever since the Reagan presidency, tax cuts have become an article of faith for conservatives. According to conservative economists, tax cuts, especially for the wealthy, increase the capital available for investment, expand the economy and the benefits eventually reach the wider population.
Our guests have studied the federal tax cuts given to taxpayers during the last 27 years, and they have arrived at some interesting conclusions. One of which is that George Bush’s tax cuts have put the...
Be the first to commentFitzgerald Town Hall listen
05/21/08 Virginia HoffmanWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Legislature, Democrats, budget cuts, education
State Rep. Keith Fitzgerald for Legislative District 69 spoke to constituents at a Post-Session Town Hall Meeting last night.
Fitzgerald started his Town Hall with a happy tone due to excitement over a face to face meeting with presidential candidate Barack Obama. As the subject changed to the Post-Session theme, he became serious. Claiming the downturn in Florida is not just because of the economy but because of poor revenue policies in general. He is disappointed and angry that the Legis...
Be the first to commentBoard of Governors vice chair at Tiger Bay listen
05/20/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: higher education, education, budget cuts, Board of Governors, Tiger Bay Club, Legislature
Since voters approved a constitutional amendment creating the body in 2002, the Board of Governors has directed Florida’s eleven public universities. Today at the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club in St. Petersburg, the vice chair of Florida’s Board of Governors, Sheila McDevitt discussed the ways that politics play a role in higher education.
Florida’s state universities are loosing good professors and administrators and are poorly considered by the most respected publication in the field, the Chr...
Be the first to commentPinellas schools look at budget cuts listen
05/06/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County Schools, budget cuts, education, schools, insurance
Due to budget cuts, Pinellas County schools must find a way to trim $43 million. Making this more difficult is the fact that providing medical insurance benefits to employees will increase by $11.5 million next year. Because employee salaries and benefits make up one of the largest budget items, the controversial idea of decreasing teacher salaries was considered in a workshop this morning.
Outgoing Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools Clayton Wilcox said the school district is no lo...
Be the first to commentSchool voucher proposal gets new life listen
04/25/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Education
The state Commission that meets once every 20 years finished up its business today with a flourish. The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission adjourned today after voting to revive the school tuition-voucher program that was axed by the Florida Supreme Court nearly 2 ½ years ago.
The Commission also passed a proposal requiring school districts to spend 65 cents of every education dollar in the classroom. They later decided to combine the two as one ballot item.
The voucher proposal woul...
Be the first to commentUSF students protest budget cut plan listen
04/22/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Education
Today at the University of South Florida Tampa campus, more than 200 students marched to stop what they fear will be the consolidation of small departments.
Students and faculty from Africana Studies, Women’s Studies and other departments ended their march by cramming into a breezeway of the Administration Building. There they asked heated questions for over an hour of Ralph Wilcox, who is USF’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
After a rally on the Martin Luther K...
Be the first to commentCritics try to stop "Academic Freedom" bill listen
04/14/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
A group formed to stop creationism from being taught in public school science classes spoke out in Tallahassee today.
The Florida Citizens for Science criticized the Evolution Academic Freedom Act bills pending in both houses in the state legislature.
The bill is being sponsored in the Senate by Eastern Hillsborough Republican Ronda Storms, and in the House by Lake County Republican D. Alan Hays.
In a bid to reduce criticism that the bill paves the way for creationism to be taught...
5 commentsUSF proposes cuts in three departments
04/10/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Education
A task force of USF faculty, students and staff released a report last month that calls for major cuts in Women’s tudies, Africana studies and Latin American studies.
The committee said that the undergraduate major could be cut in Africana studies and Women’s studies, and that the graduate degree could be eliminated in the Women's studies department. These changes would result in some faculty budget lines being removed.
Joining us now to talk about this issue are:
Kim Vaz, Associa...
Be the first to comment