Gov. DeSantis unveils 2020 State education budget proposal

Encouraging…

This week Governor DeSantis unveiled his state budget recommendations for the 2020 Legislative Session.  While some in education still have some additional ideas, concerns, and hopes about budget funding and policy development for the 2020 session, and while no budget recommendation is perfect— this is an encouraging budget recommendation for public education and I look forward to sharing with our Legislators about how we can improve it more for the students in Citrus County and Florida.

As one reviews the Governor’s budget and see things one likes and doesn’t like, it is important to remember that this is only a recommendation, it is the Legislature that has the authority and responsibility of creating the state budget.  It is important to understand that the governor’s recommendation highlights the spending priorities and new policies that the Governor looks to pursue.  Governor DeSantis’s budget serves as a guide to the 2020 Legislature as it takes on the more detailed task of developing and passing a balanced state budget.  Follow this link for an excellent side-by-side comparison of 2019-2020 Florida State Budget on Education and the Governor’s 2020-2021 Budget Recommendations- https://fsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Comparison-Gov-Budget-2020-21-Budget.pdf.

Please continue to share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas about how we can help make the Florida 2020 Legislative Session positive and successful for our students and schools.

Here are some key items in the Governor’s recommended budget:

• • An increase of more than $1 billion in total FEFP funding – mostly due to the salary and bonus packages
  • A $50 increase in the Base Student Allocation
  • Continuation of the partial roll-back of the Required Local Effort millage rate
  • Continuation of the Funding Compression Allocation
  • Elimination of the Declining Enrollment Supplement
  • Modest increases in most categorical programs
  • State PECO funding set at nearly $174 million for charter schools and $50 million for traditional public schools
  • Increased funding for Special Facility Construction to add three more districts for their 1st year
  • A $60 million increase in Workforce Education Funding

(Thank you to Florida School Board Association for information that assisted in writing this article.)

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CRHS hosts Districts at Citrus County YMCA

This past Saturday the 2019 FHSAA 2A District 4 Swimming Championship swim meet was held at the Citrus Memorial YMCA in Lecanto. Crystal River High School was asked by the other district schools to host what is believed to be the largest swim meet ever held in Citrus County with well over 500 swimmers, coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators covering 10 teams from around the Tampa Bay areas in attendance.

Months of planning went into making this a tremendously successful event. Visiting officials, teams, and families gave it high praise.  None of this success could have been possible if not for the great support and donations from a number of organizations and businesses. We want to publicly thank Crystal River High School, the Citrus County School District, YMCA of the Suncoast, CRHS Naval JROTC, FHSAA, Sun Coast Swim Team, Citrus County Education Foundation, Citrus County Parks & Recreation, Flavor Express, McDonald’s of Lecanto, WREC and Mike Scott Plumbing. Saturday’s success was also made possible because of the fabulous support and encouragement of a number of individuals. We thank to especially thank Robert “Raz” Rasmussen, Mike Laycock, Lori and Mike Lenoir, Bobby Verlato, Dr. Linda Connors, Cliff Dyer, Garrett Adkins, Robin Braswell, Gary Saslo, Bob Griffiths, Eva Gronke, Chief Warrent Liz Rivera,  Senior Chief Maurice Perine, Ashlyn Hunnicutt, Pedro Williams, Angelique Hickman, and Capt. Thomas Holme. We want to also thank the Suncoast YMCA Lecanto leadership and aquatics team who truly went above and beyond. Lastly, we want to thank the tremendous work of the Pirate Swimming coaching staff of Chuck Gatton and Beth Penn.

As a result of the successful swims at this Saturday’s 2A4 Districts, Citrus County will be sending 11 relay teams and 22 individual swimming and dive events to compete in the FHSAA 2A Region 2 Championships at the Long Center in Clearwater this Saturday, November 2, 2019.  Congratulations to all the teams and swimmers!!

Thank you again to all the individuals, organizations, and businesses that made Saturday’s District Swim Meet a successful one!

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Athletics Bring Awareness to Breast Cancer at School Board Meeting

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month—the most common cancer in women today. There are about 15,042 new cases in Florida each year, and about 160 in Citrus County alone.

Over the years many athletic programs have brought attention to this cause. CRHS swim Coach Chuck Gatton used this year’s annual rival meet between CRHS and LHS to be a Breast Cancer Awareness Meet. It was held last week on Oct 3, 2019. A rival meet became a meet of two teams coming together for one cause. The teams wore special PINK swim caps for the event with their team’s logo on the side. The team had donation challenge jars and the teams raised about $500 for Breast Cancer Awareness.

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