The Duval County School Board is looking at hiring a private attorney in its fight with the city over a sales tax referendum for school repair and construction.
WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union reported the board is being pressured to give local charter schools an up-front $150 million dollar payment as part of any deal.
Lori Hershey is chair of the Duval County Public Schools Board. She told First Connect with Melissa Ross Wednesday that the "number has gone up higher. I recently heard yesterday it was $250 million."
She used the word extortion when discussing the situation.
Related: Coverage of how Jacksonville is responding to sea level rise is at ADAPT
Climate Change Report
A new report on Climate Change and Human Rights is expected to have a Florida feel when its released. It's being prepared by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.
University of North Florida Associate Professor of Political Science Josh Gellers joined us to discuss climate change during our Going Green segment.
Back To School Savings
It’s your time to save. Florida’s back-to-school sales tax holiday is coming up this weekend. It runs for five days starting Friday.
Related: This Year's Back-T0-School Fla. Tax Holiday Expanded To Include Computers
This year many technology items will also be tax free, along with clothes and school supplies.
James Miller with the Florida Retail Federation gave us a preview.
Michelle Corum can be reached at mcorum@wjct.org, 904-358-6308 or on Twitter at @MCorumonME.
The school supplies photo used under Creative Commons license.
