SEBRING – School District Transportation Director David Solomon plans to pamper the nine new school buses being readied to go into service in August because with a statewide education budget crisis he's slated to only get three new ones next year. The 77-passenger school buses, costing about $99,000 a piece, were purchased within the 2007-08 budget. ...more

July 2, 2008

SEBRING — Creating a smaller budget, due to reduced state funding, should not be done by eliminating teaching positions, School Board of Highlands County members said Tuesday. To provide time for more discussion, the board discussed tabling the reappointment roster – the listing of teachers and administrators who will have jobs with the district in 2008-09. But with the contract year ending June 30 and the next scheduled school board meeting on July 8, that would have left a gap where employees would not have a job. ...more

June 25, 2008

The Seminole Tribe of Florida plans to take another bite out of the Big Apple. ...more

June 19, 2008

SEBRING – The search for an executive director for Florida's Heartland Rural Economic Development Initiative will contine Monday, June 2 when the selection committee meets in Sebring. Six candidates for the position are scheduled to be interviewed, according to Roger Hood, who is a member of the committee. The FHREDI board of directors' regular meeting will be held Monday, June 16 at the Agri-Civic Center in Sebring. A recommendation will likely be made from the committee to the board at that time. Following the retirement of Lynn Topel earlier this year, the board advertised the position. The committee chose three candidates to be interviewed and offered the position to the top two, but both declined. Salary might have been an issue with those two individuals, according to Hood, who is also a member of the board. ...more

May 31, 2008

SEBRING — The school district's state funding will be cut about $3.3 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year, prompting the district to consider cutting teaching and support positions. The two-year teacher contract needs to be funded, and health insurance and electricity and fuel costs are increasing, Mike Averyt, assistant superintendent of business/operations, said Monday. So the budget needs to be cut by about $7 million, he said. ...more

May 12, 2008

AVON PARK — Memorial Elementary School, on schedule to open in August, will be populated with students coming from four existing elementary schools, according to the district's proposed attendance plan. "We've got a boundary that we think is a logical one and hopefully it will be cost efficient," Assistant Superintendent of Business/Operations Mike Averyt said Monday. "We've got two public hearings to adopt the changes in the boundaries so we will be able to get public input at that point." The affected schools, from which some neighborhoods will be reassigned to the new school, are Sun 'n Lake Elementary, Avon Elementary, Park Elementary and Woodlawn Elementary. With the largest elementary school enrollment in the district, Sun 'n Lake Elementary will have the greatest enrollment decrease, Averyt said. The goal is to reduce enrollment at the school from 900 to about 650 students. The details of the proposed redistricting and school attendance zone maps will be released soon and will be presented at the public hearings, he said. ...more

February 5, 2008

AVON PARK — The next Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) class is scheduled to start on Feb. 18. The class will be held each Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. for 12 weeks at the South Florida Community College campus in Avon Park. REAL is a private enterprise initiative by the University of South Florida's Small Business Development Center at SFCC. ...more

January 27, 2008

The Cincinnati Post said goodbye with its final edition Monday - its presses stilled after 126 years. ...more

January 1, 2008

SEBRING — After continuing to work under last year's contract since the start of the school year, the school district's support personnel will likely get their annual salary increase along with a retroactive raise before the holidays. The Highlands County Educational Support Personnel Association and the School Board of Highlands County reached a tentative contract agreement late Monday afternoon. The tentative agreement calls for an average salary increase of 4 percent and a total salary and benefit package increase of 5.86 percent. ...more

November 14, 2007

SEBRING — Due to a shortage of drivers, school bus operators are having to double up on routes causing late arrivals at schools. To try to curb the shortage of bus drivers, the School Board of Highlands County will again consider suspending the high school diploma requirement. Currently about seven to eight driver positions are unfilled, Transportation Director David Solomon said Friday. The district has 109 driver positions, which includes a number of backup/substitute drivers, who fill in during sick leave and vacations. ...more

October 20, 2007