Sarasota County School Board

For four years, Sarasota County has been ground zero for culture wars in public schools. Will that change after last week’s elections flipped the conservative majority?

State law was violated when the third-party report was leaked. School board members had access but were not supposed to share details with anyone until the investigation was complete.

The next Sarasota County School board will see a liberal-leaning majority take control after voters rejected the conservative policies and culture wars that for years dominated the board.

Political experts said they're seeing a shift away from culture war issues and to more of a focus on universal concerns in education.

Although board races are officially nonpartisan, the campaigns have drawn endorsements from Democratic and Republican elected officials, as well as the local political parties.

Sarasota County commissioners finalized a plan this week to pick up the bill for more than $2 million that Tax Collector Mike Moran withheld from Sarasota County Schools to process a voter-approved referendum for education.

Local officials thought a dispute over who would pay to collect a voter-approved school tax had been settled when Sarasota County commissioners agreed in a surprise vote this week to resume covering the millions of dollars withheld by Tax Collector Mike Moran. Turns out, the fight isn’t over.

Just days after the Sarasota County School Board sued Tax Collector Mike Moran over millions of dollars withheld from a voter-approved school tax, county commissioners Tuesday voted to reverse course and resume covering the cost of collecting the tax.

The Sarasota County School Board and two county taxpayers have sued Tax Collector Mike Moran, alleging his office unlawfully diverted more than $2 million from a voter-approved school tax after changing a decades-old arrangement over who pays collection fees.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure to keep funding going for lifesaving medication. But the coverage runs out in July. Hence, the legal back-and-forth over the AIDS Drug Assistance Program continues.

The resolution, approved despite hours of emotional public opposition, does not spell out what documentation agents would need to enter schools, whether judicial warrants would be required for non-public areas, or who would make those decisions.

Sarasota’s school board vote to reaffirm cooperation with ICE sparked intense debate over student safety and learning, while Hillsborough College and the Rays take a step forward on a stadium plan.