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Alachua County School Uniform Policy

You are required to wear a school uniform at all times while attending school or any school-sponsored activity during the school day.

>> check out the Alachua County School Board’s uniform policy here

School officials have uniform praise for dress code

After heated discussions and some protests, Alachua County Public Schools officials say students and parents peacefully transitioned to a more stringent dress code.

“I expected as a result of the public input before the board during the spring and summer of last year that we would have a lot of resistance to it,” Schools Superintendent Dan Boyd said. “When school opened in August, there was virtually none.”

While organized resistance to the new dress code never materialized, still the number of dress code violations for the 2010-11 school year were nearly double the number from the previous year at 2,765.

Eastside High School topped the list with 815 referrals, with Gainesville High second at 777. Part of that high number of violations, principals said, is that with the uniform policy, it was easier for school officials to declare certain attire to be in violation. >> read more

Local schools face $7.2 million shortfall; for now, no layoffs planned

Alachua County Public Schools face a $7.2 million budget gap, school officials said Friday, but there are currently no plans for layoffs or other drastic program changes.

Although Alachua County’s financial crunch isn’t as dire as in other districts, the shortfall is still concerning, officials said.

“Keep your fingers crossed,” said Keith Birkett. “It’s getting tight.”

State lawmakers cut 8 percent of funding for school districts. Additionally, more than $8.6 million in federal stimulus money will expire for Alachua County schools. >> read more

Schools need renovations, but money is scarce

At Santa Fe High School, there aren’t enough seats in the school’s aging cafeteria to hold more than 500 students during lunch.

When it rains, Principal Bill Herschleb said, the school’s approximately 1,000 students — even divided into “A Lunch” and “B Lunch” — have a difficult time crowding into the lunch room — or trying to find shelter under a covered walkway outside.

“The lunchroom is nowhere near the size it needs to be to support the size of the student body,” he said.

According to an Alachua County Public Schools survey, more than $131.5 million is needed in renovations and construction over the next five years. But the district facilities director said that money isn’t easy to come by. >> read more

Local teachers feel budget cuts

When Kat DiManno teaches her kindergarten class about plants, she knows she could stand in front of them and just tell them how it all works.

But buying supplies with her own money and building a 3-D model with her students is the kind of thing DiManno does. At least it’s the kind of thing she will do until she loses three percent of her pay.

As a public employee, DiManno may have to contribute 3 percent of her annual salary to her retirement as part of the $69.7 billion budget approved by Florida’s Congress on Saturday. The budget cut state spending by almost $4 billion Governor Rick Scott now has the bill and may either finalize or veto it.  >> read more

Almost 500 teachers told they might not be back next year

Nearly all of more than 560 annual contract teachers in Alachua County Public Schools received notices last week that they might not be in the classroom next year because of a tight budget year, but district officials say they hope they can be brought back.

The district, which employs more than 2,000 teachers, has more than 560 annual contract employees who are in the first three years of their career. Each year, these employees must be notified by a specific date if they will be coming back.

But with funding in flux, Deputy Superintendent Sandy Hollinger said determining contracts can be difficult.

Hollinger said many grants are running out, which means those educators need to be placed into a classroom. Teachers with a professional services contract — more than 1,400 — also must be placed at schools first. That leaves annual teachers waiting to see what positions remain.

Of those annual contract teachers, nearly 90 were given jobs as multi-year contract teachers. The remainder either received notice their performance was not acceptable or they were put on hold because of budgetary concerns. >> read more