Sarasota County School District

The Sarasota school district is seeing dwindlng enrollment and rising costs. A total of 136 teacher jobs were not renewed for the 2026-27 school year.

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.

High school economics teacher Jason Means takes the reins of the Sarasota Classified Teachers Association at a tough financial time for the district.

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.

University of South Florida Middle East specialist Arman Mahmoudian weighs in on the bombings in Iran and retaliatory strikes.

An analysis of data shows teacher vacancies across the state have declined recently, but gaps remain — and limitations in the data make it difficult to compare districts or identify where shortages are most acute and how they are affecting students and classrooms.

He used a closed-door campaign stop in Sarasota to signal that education will be a central focus of his bid, calling for reforms to the state’s expanded school voucher system, significant teacher pay increases and a renewed investment in public schools.

On "Florida Matters: Live & Local," hear about local cities that want to take charge of their electricity, a plan to thwart charter "Schools of Hope," and two more ways Tampa shines.

More than 20 Sarasota campuses — including top-ranked Pine View — have lost enrollment over the past decade, leaving them vulnerable under a new state law that allows charter operators to seize unused space.

Sarasota County commissioners ended their final budget workshop Tuesday with little progress on curbing spending, despite earlier vows to rein in ballooning budgets.