Jill Sessions’ bid to join the Polk County School Board is backed by a national conservative political action committee that funded a video mentioning her and three other local candidates ahead of the August primary.
Category: Schools
Posted inPublic Safety, Schools
Polk Public Schools Reopen Tuesday; Lakeland Electric Closing in on Restoring Power
Tuesday is shaping up to be a big day in Polk County. It’s the day that students are scheduled to report back to public schools throughout the county after they closed last Tuesday as Hurricane Ian approached, according to a news release. In addition, Lakeland Electric says power should be restored to all of its […]
Posted inPublic Safety, Schools
Polk Public Schools Will Close Tuesday and Wednesday as Hurricane Ian Approaches
12:30 P.M. UPDATE: Polk County public schools will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as some schools activate as storm shelters for people evacuating their homes in advance of Hurricane Ian’s high winds and rain, Polk County Public Schools announced today. All after-school events, including athletics, are being suspended both days. No decision has been made […]
Posted inNews, Schools
ADL Report Identifies Extremist Activity in Polk
The Anti-Defamation League has documented more than 20 hate, extremism, anti-Semitism, or terrorism incidents in Polk County — 10 of them in Lakeland — that occurred between 2016 and 2021, The Ledger reports. Most involve distribution of propaganda; two involved schools: an anti-Semitic, conspiracy-filled letter faxed to a Florida Southern College department and two Jewish […]
Posted inPolitics, Schools
Expert Says Nolte’s Cash Contribution Violated State Statute
Polk School Board member-elect Rick Nolte’s $5,200 cash donation to his own campaign violates Florida law, according to a legal scholar with expertise in Florida election laws; Nolte declined to answer questions about the contribution on Thursday.
Posted inSchools
Southwest Middle School’s $55 Million Rebuild Getting Started
Southwest Middle School is undergoing a $55.2 million reboot, with a completely new, two-story, 183,000-square-foot enclosed structure to be built in the next two years, with most of the old school scheduled for the wrecking ball once construction is finished.
Posted inRecreation, Schools
Read It in the Morning Paper: Se7en Wetlands, Pickleball Courts
STATE GRANTS: Thirteen projects in Polk County will benefit from $6.2 million in federally funded grants that were approved by the Florida Legislative Budget Committee. The biggest Lakeland projects are $950,000 for the first phase of an education center at the city’s Se7en Wetlands Park and $457,500 for a life skills house at Southeastern University’s […]
Posted inSchools
CCDF Appeals Polk Schools’ Policy on Checking Out 16 Contested Library Books
County Citizens Defending Freedom has filed an appeal to Superintendent Frederick Heid’s decision to provide parents with only an opt-out process regarding 16 library books group members have complained are obscene, pornographic, age-inappropriate, or indoctrinate students.
Posted inSchools
All Polk Public School Students Are Getting a Laptop or iPad
All 116,000 Polk County Public Schools students are getting their own electronic device, thanks to a $28 million grant from the federal government, along with other state funding, Superintendent Frederick Heid announced during a Thursday morning press conference.
Posted inSchools
School District Working to Improve Student Attendance
Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid is working to stem the district’s truancy issue by creating seven “community outreach facilitators” – what were once known as truancy officers.