Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 5-6-22

Local/State
All High Schools In Hillsborough County Public Schools Rank Among Top In The Nation
Students in Hillsborough County Public Schools soared to new academic heights in 2022 according to the latest high school rankings from U. S. News & World Report. Four district schools appear in the top 50 in the state of Florida on the newly released Best High Schools report, while ALL high schools appear in the overall national rankings.
Students in Hillsborough
County Public Schools also outperform their peers in the publication’s list of best high schools in the Tampa Bay re- gion, with the district taking more than half of the top 10 spots in those rankings.
“This continued success can be attributed to relentless determination from our teach- ers, staff, and school leaders who continue to push the cog- nitive demands of each learner
while ensuring they have the support to succeed. Our stu- dents should be proud of this outstanding achievement, es- pecially during an academi- cally and emotionally challenging year,” said Super- intendent Addison Davis.
The high schools in our dis- trict that made the state’s top 50 list are:
#39 Plant High School in Tampa (97% Graduation Rate,
62.9 College Readiness Score) #45 Brooks DeBartolo Col- legiate High School in Tampa (100% Graduation Rate, 60.1
College Readiness Score)
#48 Newsome High School in Lithia (99% Graduation Rate, 61.6 College Readiness
Score)
The Best High School rank-
ings are based on six key ele- ments that contribute to student success: College Readiness, Math and Reading Proficiency, Math and Reading Performance, Underserved Student Performance, College Curriculum Breadth and Grad- uation Rate. The full list is available here: https://www.usnews.com/ed- ucation/best-high- schools/florida/districts/hillsb orough-county-public- schools-108398.
SUPERINTENDENT ADDISON DAVIS
68.6 College Readiness Score) #41SteinbrennerHighSchool in Lutz (98% Graduation Rate,
Ron DeSantis Willing To Let
Floridians’ Taxes Go Up To
Own The Libs (And Disney)
Florida Governor Ron De- Santis is escalating his war with Disney, and he's willing to risk raising taxes on Florid- ians to do it. After weeks of feuding with Disney over the Mickey Mouse company's (al- beit belated) opposition to the state's so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, Florida’s GOP- led Senate passed a bill Wednesday to unravel Walt Disney World's special dis- tricting status—a move that could reportedly leave local counties with more than $1 billion in liabilities, and po- tentially lead to increased taxes for local residents.
The GOP-led House gave final approval to the measure on Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal, which DeSantis is all but certain to sign. State Republicans pushed forward with this measure just a day after De- Santis issued a surprise re- quest to state lawmakers Tuesday to take aim at Dis- ney. Disney came out against the “Don't Say Gay" law, which effectively bans class- room discussion of sexual ori- entation or gender identity in public elementary schools, on March 9.
Disney World for decades has essentially been able to
GOV. RON DESANTIS
“function as its own munici- pal government,” the New York Times reports, thanks to a deal that Walt Disney Co. struck with Florida in 1967 that established the 25,000- acre property on which the theme park sits as a special tax district called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The designation exempts Dis- ney, Florida’s largest private employer, from various “building regulations, waste- water and other environmen- tal codes, and certain taxes and fees related to emergency services and road mainte- nance” and saves it tens of millions of dollars annually, according to the Journal. Stripping Disney the special district designation would move these major regulatory burdens onto the counties.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022