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Jeffrey S. Solochek - Education Reporter
Jeffrey S. Solochek

Education Reporter

I've been an education reporter for more than 25 years, in Illinois, Texas and Florida. Why stick with it? Because I see education as key to our community, whether it's about children learning, teachers and staff working, or residents seeking the best for their tax dollars. Our school systems are critical to our society, and I strive to tell you what's going on there. I've worked at the Tampa Bay Times since 2000, covering statewide education issues as well as the districts in Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. Think I've missed something? Send your ideas my way. I read all my emails.

  1. Hillsborough schools seek financial stability by doubling reserves
    • The Education Gradebook
    Hillsborough County School Board member Stacy Hahn, shown at a 2023 meeting, says the district should maintain reserves of at least 7% in order to flexibly manage any financial pressures that come its way.
  2. Want school library information? Florida’s $15M site has yet to take off.
    • The Education Gradebook
    Students read in the Westgate Elementary School library during a summer reading camp. The state has touted a portal for parents to learn more about the materials in school libraries. So far only two counties are participating.
  3. Pasco schools aim to put teeth behind student attendance rules
    • The Education Gradebook
    Dr. John Legg, Superintendent of Pasco County Schools, shown at a November school board meeting, wants to take more dramatic steps to enforce state and district student attendance rules.
  5. Two Pasco schools get new principals
    • The Education Gradebook
    Watergrass Elementary School in Wesley Chapel
  6. Pasco schools make gains in bus driver hiring. Is it enough?
    • The Education Gradebook
    Pasco County Schools’ buses are seen at the South Compound in 2022. The school district says its new incentive pay program is helping reduce its driver vacancies.
  7. Pinellas school board OK’s raises for all remaining employees
    • The Education Gradebook
    Pinellas County School Board member Laura Hine, shown at a March workshop, says employee raises would be negligible if voters had not approved the district's local-option property tax referendum.
  8. Florida ponders AI rules in schools, despite Trump executive order
    • The Education Gradebook
    Gov. Ron DeSantis at a May 6, 2025, press conference in Miami.
  9. Got shots? Florida moves to eliminate some mandatory student vaccinations.
    • The Education Gradebook
    The Florida Department of Health is no longer publishing school-level vaccination data, leaving parents without a key piece of information as state leaders seek to end vaccine mandates
  10. Want funding? Head Start centers told not to use words such as ‘belong’
    • The Education Gradebook
    Lifeguard Grayson Brody guides children with Edison Elementary School’s Head Start program into Roy Jenkins Pool before participating in a beginner’s swim lesson in 2024. To continue getting federal funding, Head Start programs have been told to avoid using certain words associated with diversity, equity and inclusion.
  11. Pasco, Hillsborough delay decisions on Schools of Hope requests
    • The Education Gradebook
    Schools of Hope charter operator Mater Academy has asked to occupy space in Pasco County's Cox Elementary and five other sites in the district.
  12. DeSantis touts teacher raises in his final Florida budget proposal
    • The Education Gradebook
    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks with reporters after delivering his State of the State address during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla.
  13. Lawmakers take step toward fixing Florida’s school voucher funding woes
    • The Education Gradebook
    State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, presents legislation to overhaul Florida's education voucher spending system during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. The bill passed unanimously.
  14. Florida school locks down as AI weapons detection system tags clarinet
    • The Education Gradebook
    A Florida middle school went into lockdown after its AI weapons detection system detected a student holding a clarinet as if it were a rifle.
  15. Pinellas schools to tighten volunteer background checks, for a fee
    • The Education Gradebook
    Students make their way to class between first and second period on the first day of school at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg on Aug. 11. Starting in January, Pinellas school district will begin requiring anyone who has direct unsupervised contact with students undergo what’s called a Level 2 screening.
  16. Florida teacher training programs lack diversity, report says
    • The Education Gradebook
    New teachers introduce themselves to each other while participating in Pasco County's 2024 orientation program. A new report indicates a need for more diversity in Florida's rising teacher ranks.
  17. Pasco schools want parent feedback on what’s working, what’s not
    • The Education Gradebook
    Parents and children receive direction from Principal Julie Marks, right, while arriving at Kirkland Ranch K-8 in Wesley Chapel during the first day of school 2024. The Pasco school district wants more input from parents about how the system is performing.
  18. Homeschooling gains ground with Florida families
    • The Education Gradebook
    Victoria Schurdell is seen in 2024 in the classroom area of her Pasco County home where she homeschools her two children. Homeschooling has increased in Florida by 46% since 2020.
  19. Florida has a punk music scene. UF has a class for that.
    • The Education Gradebook
    In this photo provided by Hasbro, Buddy of the Gainesville band "Less Than Jake" sprays water on the crowd from a Super Soaker water blaster during their performance in the 2006 Vans Warped Tour concert in Houston. (AP Photo/Hasbro/Ray Stubblebine/HO)
  20. Florida education commissioner booed at Tampa school board conference
    • The Education Gradebook
    Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas speaks at the Florida School Boards Association's conference in Tampa on Thursday.
  21. How to deal with falling enrollment? Florida public schools aim to compete.
    • The Education Gradebook
    Indian River County school board member Teri Barenborg, Lake County school board member Tyler Brandeburg, Duval County schools marketing chief Tracy Pierce and North East Florida Educational Consortium executive director Patrick Wnek talk about reimagining public schools in an age of declining enrollment, during the Florida School Boards Association annual winter conference in Tampa on Dec. 3, 2025.
  22. Should any students have priority access to Florida Virtual School courses?
    • The Education Gradebook
    State lawmakers have proposed eliminating priority enrollment categories for Florida Virtual School courses. (Times | 2011)
  23. Pinellas teacher joins Democratic field seeking to unseat Rep. Luna
    • Florida Politics
    Pinellas County high school history teacher Brandt Robinson speaks during a march and rally event hosted by Florida Rising at St. Petersburg City Hall in July 2023.
  24. Florida lawmakers to consider a return to multi-year teacher contracts
    • The Education Gradebook
    More than 100 teachers and concerned citizens protested in front of the offices of State Rep. Will Weatherford in March 2011 over proposals to overhaul how teachers are hired, fired, paid and evaluated. State lawmakers are discussing whether to roll back some of the rules during the 2026 session.