[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6343971,"mediaKeyId","2251335-86ca6e7e8162dd743405786c6eefe785","parentId",2251335,"title","Regional education consortia describe shared services that help small Florida districts operate and deliver instruction","audioSeconds",2133,"startMs",2660000,"endMs",4793000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2251335-86ca6e7e8162dd743405786c6eefe785&start=2660&end=4793","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2251335-86ca6e7e8162dd743405786c6eefe785/thumbnail_2660000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6343971/Florida/Regional-education-consortia-describe-shared-services-that-help-small-Florida-districts-operate-and-deliver-instruction","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6343971-5342f61a9012899e5acafc148f3699b1/orig.mp4?Expires=1773578089&Signature=cxVAOalQ5sa8LlgyuHtG9VsBw58v1Pgnkwg9cNZAE8z8uDj2kTDcBd95Vug6ja4KD8e7Ni8YHFOZNVrfU~QiWv7u901Ken3r3XKazl0arl-zkoKq0ADRJw-o-zINJ697NtXMWDmzeMRisvciU-bheJxNwu-xeGIjVGUCKQs9u5ZwhFLTP3Fo1beIySSFKR9ugx5ki9gwaPrjK5~wyQTMg0jsdth~MQ6LByBegH4RWBQodnKuoEXTlFFRprdt5rz4MtA6Yix5H7EwiB-ee7Ic45Wh4HL9UARpT04fTOZGd8CnP2T5omlldZlffC-fW0mEFypvEyyUXsQ2STksKJ7h~w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Florida State Legislature","date","2025-02-05T00:00:00Z","article","Representatives of Florida’s regional education consortia told the Appropriations Committee on Pre K‑12 Education that pooling back‑office and instructional services enables small rural districts to meet state mandates and deliver services they could not sustain on their own.

John Slover, executive director of the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PACE), described the consortia as member‑led organizations that provide economies of scale for districts with fewer than 20,000 full‑time equivalent students. “When you think of consortia, think of economies of scale,” Slover said, summarizing why small and rural districts rely on regional cooperation.

The three consortia represented — PACE, NEFEC (Northeast Florida Educational Consortium) and Heartland Educational Consortium — told senators they provide a wide array of services: shared purchasing and cooperative procurement, centralized grant application and management, on‑site technical assistance, role‑specific professional learning for teachers and administrators, assistance with instructional‑materials adoption, risk management and self‑insured property/casualty programs, and career and technical education alignment with regional economic partners.

Superintendents from member districts gave concrete examples. Robbie Edwards of Lafayette County said NEFEC supplies instructional expertise and purchasing leverage that his small district could not afford on its own. “We under the same mandates that Miami‑Dade is. We just do it with a lot less people,” Edwards said, describing how NEFEC allows a district with one instructional director to access content‑area specialists across the region.

Buddy Brown, Holmes County superintendent, called the consortia “a force multiplier for the small and rural districts,” and other superintendents echoed that the organizations provide a combination of operational stability and peer support. Panelists said consortia staff sometimes step in to provide direct services — for example, accounting and grant management during turnover — and that mutual aid during hurricane response and other crises is a key benefit.

Donna Garcia, Heartland’s executive director, said the consortia align services to district needs and monitor impact through continuous improvement processes and communities of practice. “Everything is predicated on district need,” Garcia said, noting the consortia track metrics such as professional‑learning participation, courses completed, and dollars saved through cooperative purchasing.

Dr. Patrick Wenek of NEFEC and other consortium leaders highlighted additional services: leadership development (aspiring‑leader programs and principal academies), school‑safety collaboration, IT and cybersecurity support, and local coordination for career‑technical pathways with colleges and industry partners. The consortia also reported helping districts reduce insurance exposure by pooling risk and negotiating property and casualty coverage.

Committee members asked whether consortia could expand back‑office consolidation and what regulatory relief the legislature might provide to ease burdens on small districts. Senator Gates asked for recommendations on additional functions that consortia could centralize to reduce costs; panelists suggested the consortia already handle many such functions but asked legislators to consider the variety of local circumstances across 67 school districts and to avoid one‑size‑fits‑all mandates. County officials also raised the difficulty of budgeting on uncertain FTE counts during rapid enrollment changes tied to scholarship programs; panelists asked for flexibility and clearer timelines so districts might better project budgets.

The meeting included several personal endorsements: Mike Ripplinger, Union County superintendent, said NEFEC’s services are “immeasurable” for a district that cannot employ a broad complement of specialist staff; Dr. Bobby Bennett, DeSoto County superintendent, described Heartland’s role in helping his district respond to staffing losses and improve a previously low‑performing school.

Ending

Committee members thanked the consortia and the superintendents for the panel and asked staff to accept written recommendations on regulatory relief and possible further consolidation of administrative services. No legislative action was taken during the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Appropriations Committee on Higher Education 2/5/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Representatives of Florida’s regional education consortia told the Appropriations Committee on Pre K‑12 Education that pooling back‑office and instructional services enables small rural districts to meet state mandates and deliver services they could not sustain on their own.","taxTitle","Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, House, Legislative, Florida","taxId",25416,"location","Florida","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6343977,"State education officials review funding and results for low‑performing schools, advanced‑course partnership and regional literacy teams",253,54000,307000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2251335-86ca6e7e8162dd743405786c6eefe785&start=54&end=307","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2251335-86ca6e7e8162dd743405786c6eefe785/thumbnail_54000.jpg","/articles/6343977/Florida/State-education-officials-review-funding-and-results-for-lowperforming-schools-advancedcourse-partnership-and-regional-literacy-teams","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6343977-7e9182f11930b8049510ae5488b2ffd9/orig.mp4?Expires=1773578089&Signature=c4NneJxBLpz1XdsqZ4nqEfybr5U2ecWSiJeGST~zCR1hBlmrzwKEAmUkTtpVVbAe8uEy1BmwP0vYQpTgCCsHO2yvuC1hHtDLrKyVEZnj39-rQ81put0BjByd84F7xFxauWOrmdq-zVMQ2KXKvQgHv0iflejvMffXHAXcOJSs9~xcZHWzqsyyucESU9ENk0fmRco5HF24LnN6Ud0pV04M6HpEvB7vb5Bk1KRwHG~esvkRT5aKoNq2RbiC85VB4FUm-uh7UAKLTnXdPPGjPVK7O~hnqoxId9fMmiF69Fx66JbdMxnkf~lEYTD01cF7c14LGHlVDwbZFaNXFAJa9K2dVA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Appropriations Committee on Pre K‑12 Education heard on Monday from the Florida Department of Education about three recurring programs that together account for about $16,000,000 in the preK‑12 budget: assistance to low‑performing schools through the Bureau of School Improvement, the Florida Partnership that funds advanced‑course access, and the regional literacy teams established under the RAISE initiative, officials said.

Dr. Paul Burns, senior chancellor at the Florida Department of Education, told the committee the department uses a mix of state and federal funds — including Title I, federal school improvement grants and targeted state appropriations in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) — to support the most fragile schools and accelerate literacy instruction.

The programs matter, Burns said, because they target schools that receive a first‑time grade of F or a second consecutive D and typically show the largest literacy achievement gaps. “We have decreased from 6% to 4%, representing statewide a 2% decrease in the number of failing schools,” Burns said, citing the most recent school‑grade releases and crediting targeted investments and the Bureau of School Improvement for that progress.

The department described three streams of support. The Bureau of School Improvement maintains five regional teams that visit classrooms, monitor instruction, and provide real‑time feedback and professional learning. The Florida Partnership appropriation has been funded at $4,000,000 annually in the GAA; Palm Beach State College is the 2023‑24 recipient and awarded roughly $2.3 million to subrecipients that included school districts and education consortia to support outreach, teacher development and student advising. The department said Palm Beach State has reached thousands of parents and hundreds of students and is developing a statewide model for advanced‑course enrollment and performance tracking.

The RAISE regional literacy teams — the Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholastic Excellence — were established initially with CARES and ESSER funds and are now supported by a $5,000,000 state appropriation, Burns said. The department reported about 1,165 schools are identified as RAISE schools. The program divides supports into universal, targeted and intensive tiers: universal services (webinars, statewide professional learning and coach‑endorsement pathways), targeted supports (district‑ or school‑level professional learning and train‑the‑trainer models serving nearly 500 schools) and the most intensive on‑site supports for about 207 schools where literacy directors conduct classroom observations and collaborative planning.

Burns said the department measures short‑term progress using the FAST progress‑monitoring cycles (PM1, PM2, PM3) and cautioned that comparisons with earlier systems (the FSA era) are difficult because the statewide assessment structure changed. “When we use our own data from our progress monitoring system, we’re able to actually track those students’ performance,” Burns said, adding that teachers receive immediate feedback from the FAST system and can target interventions quickly.

Committee members pressed Burns about rural participation, monitoring students who fell behind during the pandemic, and whether supports continue after a school leaves improvement status. Burns said regional teams cover all districts across the state and that the Bureau of School Improvement continues to monitor schools after they exit improvement status to reduce recidivism. He also described family resources and the department’s coordination with adult‑education programs, saying parents can contact the department or their district to review real‑time student data and interventions.

Separately, Deputy Commissioner Suzanne Pridgen described the school district education foundation matching grants. “A matching grant is a subgrant from the consortium to a district foundation, and the amount of each matching grant is a minimum of $10,000,” Pridgen told the committee. She said the consortium administers the grants, requires private‑sector matching contributions and distributes funds using the most recent FTE counts; the program is intended to support tutoring, summer learning, STEM and career‑technical education, professional learning, and supplies.

Committee chairpersons asked staff to follow up with additional data and to supply the grading matrix Dr. Burns referenced so legislators could compare metrics across years. Burns said he would provide follow‑up materials and that the department will continue monitoring implementation and outcomes.

The presentation and question-and-answer session ran through a series of committee questions before the meeting moved to the next panel.

Ending

Committee members thanked the department presenters and asked for follow up documents on the school‑grade matrix and program metrics for Palm Beach State’s Florida Partnership model. No formal committee action or vote was taken on these programs during the hearing.","The Florida Department of Education told the Appropriations Committee on Pre K‑12 Education that targeted state and federal funds and regional literacy teams have helped some low‑performing schools improve, while the Florida Partnership grant to Palm Beach State College will continue work to expand access to advanced courses.","actionData","errors"]

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Regional education consortia describe shared services that help small Florida districts operate and deliver instruction

State education officials review funding and results for low‑performing schools, advanced‑course partnership and regional literacy teams