Public schools across Florida are facing deepening funding cuts, school closures, and staff layoffs. Join parents, educators, students, and community members on Saturday, April 18, for a full-day forum hosted by Support Our Schools to examine the growing crisis and organize for the future of public education. Featuring nationally recognized speaker Jennifer Berkshire and Monroe School Board member Sue Woltanski, the event will also include panels and breakout sessions focused on empowering parents, supporting educators, and mobilizing communities to protect public schools.

Support Our Schools of Sarasota (501(c)(3)), in partnership with the Unitarian Universalists, invites you to a powerful, day-long forum focused on defending public education in Florida. Titled STOP the ATTACK on our Public Schools, this event will bring together outstanding national, statewide, and local experts to inform, inspire, and activate our community.

Keynote speaker Jennifer Berkshire is a nationally respected, bestselling education author whose work appears in The Nation, The New Republic, and The New York Times. She is the author of The Education Wars and A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, and co-hosts the acclaimed podcast Have You Heard.

Featured panelist Dr. Sue Woltanski, Monroe County School Board member and author of the widely respected blog Accountabaloney, will offer insight into Florida's education policy landscape.

Other panelists include Dr. Norin Dollard of the Florida Policy Institute, a leading expert on the negative impacts of school vouchers, as well as leaders from Support Our Schools and the SEE Alliance who will offer a local perspective.

Attendees will learn how current policies threaten vital supports like 504 plans, IDEA, Title I, ESE, and IEP programs. Together, we’ll explore the future of education in Sarasota and statewide—and build a community action plan to stop the defunding of public education and protect the educational rights of all children.

A Q&A session will follow the panel.

 5:30pm   Rally: Save Our Schools & US DOE! Trump to Cut Funding for Low-Income & Special Needs Students

Trump has fired DOE staffers and DOGE is currently holed up in the DOE building

hacking into government software to cut funds and services for low-income and special needs children nationwide.

Current Federal DOE Funding for Sarasota Public Schools:

·     $12.3M for IDEA special education programming.

·     $11.4M for Title I grants to schools with high percentages of low-income students.

·      $2.5M for Title IV program to improve student achievement.

·      $1.5M in “Teacher and Principal” funding to improve the effectives of teachers and principals and increase student achievement.

·      Millions designated for other programs, including funding for homeless students and Head Start programs.

How Closing DOE Will Hurt Sarasota Schools & Children

Support Our Schools has calculated that $12.3 in lost special education funding could result in the laying off as many as 170 special education teachers and support staff. However, the harm to students is not limited to fiscal issues. The proposed block granting of federal funds will mean that students with disabilities will lose their rights to a “free and appropriate public education” and the right to an IEP with safeguards and protections. It will push special education back 50 years when children with disabilities were warehoused in basements and aging strip malls, if they were educated at all.

Title 1 Cuts: $2,400 per low-income student.(Project 2025).

Half of the elementary schools in Sarasota (as does Booker Middle School and some charter schools and special programs) receive Title I funding This funding pays for extra teachers and staff, including reading and math specialists, after-school tutoring, parent education and many other programs and services. Again over 100 staff will be let go, if this funding is terminated.

Free and Reduced School Lunches $31 Million Cut

The proposed elimination of the “reduced price” portion of the (Agriculture Dept.) program will hit low-income working families. Sarasota County Schools receives $31 million from the USDA for this program. Interestingly, the Trump pick for Sec. of Agriculture is Brooke Rollins, a direct colleague of McMahon at the America First Institute and an overt Christian Nationalist.

General Info & Agenda Multiple items on this agenda allow you to discuss the Trump plan and DOGE’s moves to shut down the US Dept of Education. Speak about how it will impact our Sarasota families and school district.  These fall into three categories: Eliminating or gutting vital programs like ESE and Title 1, funding school choice rather than vital programs, and censoring curriculum.

***Your On-Agenda Speech (3 min)*** Focus on the cuts, gutting, and or weaponizing) the US DOE, specifically its effects on children and schools in the Sarasota district.

***Your General Comment Speech (2 min)*** Use this time to discuss your concerns about immigration, particularly possible ICE interventions at Sarasota schools.  While Mr. Connor and the district have clarified some aspects of district policy on an ICE intervention, the district has not addressed all our concerns and has not published its policies on the website. 

IMPORTANT: You Must Sign up to Speak!

Speaker Request:: (Form will appear on Monday) Your form must stateeach agenda item you wish to speak on.

How US DOE Cuts/Closure Will Hurt Sarasota Schools

Agenda Item 10.9, “Approval of the Supt’s Finance Report for Nov. 30, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024”

This item provides budgetary information that spells out how much funding is provided by the US DOE.  In the table entitled “Special Revenue” (which is the 5th table in the packet), it shows that Sarasota County Schools expects to receive $49.6 million in federal funds which is spelled out under Revenues, the first two items, Federal Direct and Federal State. Express YOURCONCERNS about losing all or most of these federal funds and the impact that will have on the district.  (See earlier information for specifics.) The two biggest recipients of these funds include ESE for special education programming and Title I for extra funding for schools with a high level of students from low-income families. 

The Trump Plan to Weaponize US DOE and Fund School Privatization

Agenda Item 11.1, 11.2, and 11.3, “School Choice” Addendum to the Dreamers Academy and Renewed Approval of Island Village Montessori School and Sarasota Military Academy.

Each item describes the rationale for requesting the approval of these three school choice programs. Mention all these programs. Use this opportunity to discuss how Trump has already indicated that his plan is to use any federal funds for education that escape the chopping block will be utilized for school choice vouchers. Trump’s January 29 Executive Order, “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families, said that money should be sent to the states (in block grants rather than dedicated program funding) for “formula-grant” programs (like IDEA special education and Title 1 for low-income students) should be used for school choice such as vouchers for private schools.  This will devastate Sarasota schools (see above for what these programs provide).

Censoring Curriculum and Textbooks

Agenda Items 11.4 to 11.22, “Academic Service,” seeks the approval of science instructional material, largely textbooks, for certain grade levels and specific courses.  Most of this material up for approval has been censored by the State of Florida (legislation and FL Dept. of Education) in order to remove or “soften” certain information on such topics as climate change or gender topics. PROJECT 2025: Mention that the Trump-Musk administration has adopted the proposals in Project 2025 to adopt a “patriotic curriculum.” The textbooks up for approval reflect this type of censorship. Florida is paving the way in this area and will serve as a model for what DOGE wants for the entire country, the federal backing of this approach will only embolden the FL DOE to impose even stronger censorship and ideological control.

Sources: “Musk Team Announces Millions in Cuts to DOE Amid Legal Pushback” (NYT). In defiance of judicial court rulings, Musk’s DOGE has already slashed nearly $1 Billion in Education grant-funded programs, including research projects to improve student achievement and reading levels.

The “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunities for Families,” White House Executive Order issued January 29, turns dedicated funding for “formula-grant” programs, including IDEA special education and Title 1 programs, into block grants that must be prioritized to fund school vouchers for private schools and even for-profit school choice programs.

REGISTER TO SPEAK ON MONDAY. AT. LINK BELOW

Let’s start the new year with a strong presence supporting Sarasota schools, especially its students and teachers. 

Here’s What You Need to Know…

Speakers will have three opportunities to speak at this meeting: (1) During a special hearing on the adoption of science textbooks (3 min. limit); (2) On an agenda item (3 min. limit); and (3) On any school-related topic of your choosing (2 min. limit). New: You may now sign up online on Monday before the meeting. You can still sign up before the start of the meeting, but aim to be there by 5:45 pm.  A separate card must be filled out for each round of public commentary. Please include the agenda item number. 

Wendy Rosen presents Sarasota County League of Women Voters Report Card for School Board Chair Karen Rose. School Board Meeting Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT5wK_ZNBYk

91 Year old Support Our Schools member Rhanna Bazzini speaks out at every board meeting for twenty years.

Please join us as our panelists provide an overview of House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 202. These new bills making their way through our legislation right now will pull a staggering amount of money out of Public Education to be used for private schools and homeschooling, both of which have little to no accountability or oversight.

It’s essential that we pay attention to what students are being taught. The recent teacher training on the updated Florida civics curriculum standards, has left many educators with concerns. Join us while we sit down with top educators and discuss the effect these standards will have in our schools and, inevitably, in our community.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE EVENT PAGE.

Unable to attend? No problem!! Watch it live: HERE.

As Sarasota County teachers return to school on August 3rd, many of them are stressed and afraid. Overworked, underpaid, and under attack, unprecedented numbers have already retired or quit, thus exacerbating the teacher shortage. What can WE as a community do to show our support?

CLICK TO WATCH THE MEETING LIVE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE EVENT PAGE.

Join us on January 18, 2022 as we unite as a community of collaborators and TAKE THE PLEDGE to STAND UP for Sarasota and Manatee County Schools.