Cant Keep Quiet!

Central Florida has been experiencing a long and brutal cold spell since the beginning of the year.  Last night temperatures dropped into mid to low 20s for most of the night.

Temperatures are typically in the low to mid 70s this time of year.  Yes, it may drop to the 50s or even 40s but that typically last about two days and then the temperatures are back in the 70s.

A cold front moved in on New Year’s Day and it’s been unseasonably cold ever since.

Yesterday was brutal.  The Weather Channel says we got up to 42 degrees.  Who knows, maybe at 7 am in the morning but the temperature at my house never rose above 36 degrees.  Last night the temperatures dropped into the mid 20s.

Homes aren’t built for this sort of weather here.  This house was built for the summer heat.  It stays cooler during the summer due to its construction.  That means when it gets brutally cold like it has been the house is difficult if not impossible to get warm.  The heat pump runs virtually non stop just to get the temperature to something reasonable.

Schools have also been having trouble keeping students warm.  In Orange County alone, 13 schools had no heat for all or part of this week.  Each school had a different reason for not having heat, though.

Even if the school had heat it didn’t mean that the entire school was warm.  My school had heat, but my office and several of the classrooms that run off the same system in my building were frigid at best.  The air conditioner folks from the county are looking into the problem.  As of Friday, though, it hadn’t been fixed.

It’s supposed to get into the 20s again tonight and tomorrow night.  Tuesday night will be in the 30s.  It will start to get back to normal Central Florida weather by Friday.  That’s two weeks worth of winter weather instead of the usual 2 or 3 days.

By a practically non-existent amount, Florida lawmakers have negotiated an agreement to increase per student funding by about $28.  This increase will only take place if Florida gets the waiver to receive federal education stimulus money.

The federal package requires that funding go no lower than the 2005/2006 level.  States need to apply for a waiver to receive stimulus funding.

Florida had to apply for the waiver because lawmakers have cut education funding to below 2005/2006 levels.   In fact, education spending in Florida has been dropping since 2006.   Current funding is below 2004-2005 levels.

Florida’s Department of Education didn’t bother to apply for the waiver until this week.   The state’s excuse last week was that the details of the waiver application weren’t detailed enough.  The Federal government basically told the Florida DOE to get off its butt and fill out the detailed application already.

In order to get the waiver, the percentage of state money earmarked for education must remain at the level it was at last year.   I can’t tell you the exact percentage of state money that was earmarked for education, but I doubt it is the same percentage as last year.

For one thing, Florida cut the amount of money set aside for education from last year to this year.  Then they cut it again in January of this year.  Even their plan to increase funding by $28 per student (using stimulus money) won’t get the state to the level it was at this past August.

The $28 increase is to the levels the state left the schools at when they cut funding in January 2009.   That is still below the levels schools were given in August of this school year.

According to one Central FL school finance officer, even if Florida gets the waiver, the funding will only keep “. . .a low number flat.”

Technorati Tags: federal education stimulus money

The preliminary investigation into an explosion near Bay Meadows Elementary School in Orlando, FL seems to indicate that a paint can or other similar container may be responsible.  No explosive devises were found on or near the school.

The temperature here yesterday was in the upper 80s.  A tightly sealed paint can left in the sun could definitely build up enough pressure to cause an explosion.

Update: Now they are saying it was a “Fix-A-Flat” that over pressurized and blew up.   (4/26/07)

Technorati Tags: elementary school, explosion