The Florida Roundup - Florida DOGE ramps up audits, congressional redistricting and weekly news briefing  

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

This week on The Florida Roundup, we checked in with reporters across the state to see how cities and counties are responding to audits from the state’s Department of Government Efficiency or ‘DOGE’ (00:24). Then, we spoke with Your Florida state government reporter Douglas Soule about Gov. DeSantis’ push to draw a new congressional map for the state (19:50) and later UF Professor Sharon Austin (28:04). Plus, a roundup of education news from the week including reports of fewer teacher vacancies (37:44) and how Florida’s voucher program is funneling money away from public schools (39:40).

The Florida Roundup is sponsored by Covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813 or coveringflora.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Matthew Petty. Tom's out this week. Florida's task force aimed at eliminating wasteful spending has become auditing city and county. governments up and down the state. Coming up, we're going to check in with our partner stations around the state about how those audits are going. Florida Doge or Department of Government Efficiency is the state's version of the task force

that was headed by Elon Musk. On social media this week, Chief Financial Officer Blazingolia used a wink emoji to promote an unofficial name, the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight, or FAAFO, an acronym for F-A-Round and Find out. Here's Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad's take. And I also think that they're, you know, speaking to the counties in terms of, you know, we're kind of at their mercy for what they want to F around and find out going through the books. Well, county officials have promised to defend home rule, but speaking in Orlando Tuesday, Ingolia, dismissed concerns about home rule. They wind up overtaxing, overspending, adding onerous regulations on the people, and then who protects the people?

that's where the state comes in. So I don't buy this argument that the state shouldn't get involved in home rule. All right, that's CFO Blazing Goley there. We'll hear a little more about Florida Doge's investigation of Orange County in a bit. You can weigh in as well if you have questions or comments. Call 305-995-1800. Send us an email radio at the Florida Roundup.org. First, though, let's go to Carlton Gillespie with our partner station WLR-Rens-Brought County.

Bureau. Carlton, thanks for joining us. Now, Broward County was one of the first local governments selected for an audit by the task force. What has the DeSantis administration said about the county's spending? They've said a lot, and it's probably not a surprise that they were one of the first governments named DeSantis himself has mentioned that Broward County's government, he alleges, has increased their budget by 82%. Over the last five years, that's a number the county dismisses but he's often said that because Broward County has kept its millage rate the same the proportional increase in property tax burdens on people have increased even though the county's population hasn't grown more than about 5% in the last five years okay so some

pushback there I guess what are we hearing from I should say what are some of the things the task force has been asking the county about because like there's a list they're going through with each county right or each city that's right so they sent a list of of items but you know we should mention that in the press conference announcing this audit they mentioned an 800,000 dollar float that the tourism board here in Broward county spent to put in the the Rose Bowl parade in California this was viewed as kind of a slanted shot at the DeSantis administration this was at the time of the don't say gay bill controversy, and the float basically said that Fort Lauderdale was open to LGBT tourism. That money that the state is claiming represents a gross misspend by the county

is actually funded through the tourism development tax, which is a state tax. So in addition to these kind of spurious claims, they've also highlighted specifically the penny surtax that the County has for transportation projects, even calling out specific staff members. And of course, there was an area listing the Green New Deal, which is something Broward has never formally adopted the resolution that was passed in Congress in 2019 that was called the Green New Deal, but they do have a number of climate resiliency projects and a task force that were getting some extra scrutiny when Doche came to visit last week. Okay, so, I mean, is there some indication or any indication that Florida Doge has identified some wasteful spending so far?

No, there's been no report on the audit that was, you know, done Thursday and Friday of last week. There's been no report afterwards saying that they found anything in particular as far as Broward County is concerned. Now, the task force is coming for Miami-Dade as well. What can you tell us about that? So they've gotten a little bit stronger pushback in Miami-Dade. Broward County kind of opened up the books and said, we're proud of our record, check us out. Miami-Dade is saying that they have complied with Doge's request for specific budget line items, which they have. They've sent them that information.

But they're pushing back on the idea of an in-person audit for the reason that it's what Broward-Mare-Beam-Fur told me was a huge imposition on staff. I think in Broward, they collected something like 66,000 documents that had to be uploaded to Doge's unique. server, and it's in the height of budget season for a lot of these governments, which is kind of when they're at their most overworked and most stressed, making sure that they can meet their budget deadline by the end of the fiscal year. So Miami-Dade is pushing back on an in-person audit.

They're happy to open their books to Doge, as far as Levine Kava says, the mayor of Miami-Dade, but they don't want a big imposition to county staff. That does sound like a lot of an awful document to go through and send to that task force. Yeah, no, that's true. And it was multiple days. The Doge team was kind of set up in a particular office, and they were just bringing people in, and folks were having to take time out of the day just to upload documents,

just to complete the uploading process. So it's doubtful that the Doge team has even reviewed everything they've asked for. Carlton Gillespie with WLRN. He's the Broward County Bureau reporter there. Thank you so much, Carlton. Anytime. Let's turn now to Joe Burns with our partner station, Central Florida Public Media. Joe, Chief Financial Officer Blazing Golia

wasn't Orlando this week. What did he say about the rationale for these audits? Hi, Matthew. So he focused on property taxes. He described this whole thing as beginning with conversations with the governor about property taxes. You know, we have rising property values.

And even though a lot of these counties, like Orange County, haven't actually increased their county-wide property tax rate, the amount of money they're bringing in has increased. And so Angolia's saying local government is growing basically on the backs of taxpayers. They're footing the bill.

So the focus should be on police and fire and essential services and not on what he calls fluff. Yeah, and I guess there's some kind of questions about what actually counts as fluff in there. And it depends on who you talk to in local government. Now, there's been some concerns raised by Orange County about home rule. and it's not the only county or city to raise these concerns as Florida Doge starts looking into its books. Tell us more about why Orange County is worried about it. Home rule, that issue for Orange County is a lot bigger.

It's hard to think of anything bigger than the budget for a county, but it's a lot bigger than the Doge audit. And it really starts with the county's attempts to control its rapid growth, to target areas where they want to see growth and protect rural areas. Well, recent changes in state law, and so those types of things have really crushed the county's effort. They have a whole Vision 2050, a new land development plan has been nullified by state action. So when you say home rule in Orange County, that's the big picture.

In terms of the Doge audit, I think you can look at the, the priorities that Mayor Jerry Deming's spelled out in his response to the doja. He talks about police and fire, flooding issues, global housing, transportation, opioid deaths, vulnerable children and families, homelessness. These are the priorities that the county articulates in its budget. So, you know, are those county priorities, are they fluff? And who decides that they're fluff? And the county is basically saying it needs to make these decisions.

Yeah, now we heard from Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez-Simrad earlier, and I guess I'm getting a sense from what you're saying there, Joe, about what we're hearing from other county leaders to pushing back and saying, we need to talk about what our county needs and we're closer to the issue. Now, Doge personnel are heading to Orlando this week. What a city leader is saying about that? One of the things they're saying is kind of echoes what the county is saying with is we're going to cooperate fully.

we're going to be transparent. What you're going to see is that we are being responsible. We're spending the money efficiently and responsibly. We're not wasting taxpayers money. That's what Mayor Buddy Dyer came out saying. Yeah. Another issue where Orange County leaders have clash with the governor is Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

I know it's a little bit outside the scope of the Doge discussion, but just in the last few seconds here I have with you, Joe, what's the latest on the county's agreements with ICE? Yeah, this has been a real time. tug of war this week the county commission voted to accept an addendum to its jail's agreement with ICE to where corrections officers now can transport detainees to detention facilities like that a controversial new facility in the abigail they had initially the mayor had initially declined to sign it the commission had decided not to sign it and then attorney general and the

governor come out saying we're going to remove you from office if you don't don't sign it. So they basically really didn't have an option. If Orange County is going to maintain this democratically elected government, they were going to sign that agreement. So they said we'll do it, but essentially under duress. Joe Burns with Central Florida Public Media, thank you so much for your insights. Appreciate it. Thank you. Well, Megan Bowman is with us now. Megan's a reporter with the Your Florida team and joins us here in Tampa. Megan, there's a slew of Tampa Bay governments that Florida doge is auditing, including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee County? We think about Manatee County, for example. What reason did DeSandis give for auditing

that county? Well, hey, Matthew. Yeah, so some of his reasons really echo what Joe and Carlton said. It boils down to property taxes. DeSantis says he's gotten a lot of feedback to look into Manatee. He said in the last six years, there's been an increase of spending at the county level. So those property tax receipts went up about 86 percent, he said. And, you know, that results in an increased collection of about $213 million. But why Manatee? You know, some other state leaders like Ana Eskimani and community members have questioned whether some of these Doge efforts are actually political retaliation.

In Manatee earlier this year, DeSantis butted heads with some of the county commissioners' attempt to restore wetlands protections. Then in May, a commissioner voiced his disapproval on X. And then in June, DeSantis signed the state's budget, and he vetoed $5 million requested by Manatee County. Yeah. It's interesting you bring up Manatee County, too. I mean, we've heard from local leaders.

You mentioned Anna Escamani, but a lot of folks, some folks are saying this task force was going to target Democrat leading cities and county. CFO and Golia touted Manatee County as an example of Doge auditing a Republican-led county. So, I mean, what are county leaders there saying? Right. Well, you know, what you're saying about Angolia, he actually wrote on X. You thought we were only auditing blue counties? Guess again. But all in all, county leaders and Manatee and others in the Tampa Bay region have welcomed the audit. And, you know, they're saying they hope it will make them more efficient. Hillsborough County is another of these counties that's kind of under the microscope, also Pinellas and the city of St. Petersburg. Just focusing on Pinellas for a moment, what have Pinellas County leaders said? Well, so they've pushed back a little bit this week, saying that the Florida doge numbers were wrong, like off by hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, Pinellas was tasked, you know, we talked about the letters they received and the requests.

They had to come up with about 162,000 documents for just the two-day spend. And, you know, the county, when they pushed back, they said, you know, they should be spending more on things like enhanced Florida retirement system benefits. Yeah, those things are expensive. I mean, are local government leaders hoping to get something out of this? And if so, why? You know, all of these Doge efforts come as Governor DeSantis has been pushing this slash to property taxes statewide. You know, he wants to get that on the 26th ballot. But for the most part, county and city leaders have said they welcome the audits and look forward to it.

Pinellas and Hillsborough both tried to get ahead of this actually. back in April by creating their own Doge task force, and Manatee followed suit in May. Right. So they're sort of saying we can find ways to cut spending before Doge even rolls in with their auditors. Megan Bowman, reporter with the Your Florida team. Thank you so much for your insights. Thanks. Well, let's turn now to Jacksonville, where Mike Mindenhall is standing by. He's the associate producer and city government reporter for Jacksonville today. Mike, thanks for being with us. It's for happening with me. So what is the focus of the Florida Doge team in Jacksonville. Similar to some of the other counties that we've heard about, property taxes is really

kind of the key focus here in Jacksonville. We actually are the Jacksonville City Council started its budget review of Mayor Donna Deegan's budget yesterday and one of their first actions was actually to lower the city's millage rate to buy an eighth of a mill, which is about roughly $13 million in revenue. So that was that and that was coincided with with the the state CFO's visit here in Jacksonville, and a lot of people, including the mayor's office, are saying that that's not an accident. Yeah, I mean, CFO and Goli, again, he's been fairly active on X on social media this week. You see about that.

The city voting to lower taxes saying it's an example of governments, quote, crying wolf about their budgets while they have the ability to pass savings onto taxpayers. I mean, what have city leaders being saying about the budget? Well, when the budget initially came out, there was relative, I want to say relative praise for it. It was a balanced budget. It funded police and fire, fully children's programs, all of which were priorities of the city council president as well as the mayor's office. But as the budget hearings have gotten closer and as the doge effort really ramped up in the announcement with that they were going to be doing, an in-person audit in Jacksonville happened. And there's been some more critical talk coming out of the Republican-led city council.

And Jacksonville is an interesting case because we have divided government here in Jacksonville. The mayor is a Democrat, Mayor Donna Deegan. And so there is occasionally some budding heads between the two branches of government. However, they, you know, typically on the high profile cases, the high profile issues, they typically align. Yeah, they've got a city to run and you have to sort of put some of that partisanship aside and just get stuff done, right? Like pay for roads and kind of figure out what your taxes are going to be, et cetera. One thing that is making headlines about Angolia's visit to Jacksonville, Mike, he says some local governments are scrubbing records. Before the Doge team even gets there, made this comment at a press conference.

Did he have some details about which governments are trying to get rid of this information and what that information is that they are scrubbing? No, he didn't provide any details during the press conference yesterday. It's actually one of the things that he led with during the press conference. He didn't identify which local city or county governments he was discussing, and he also said that he had multiple sources that were feeding these allegations to his office, but he declined to identify the sources. Of course, he was being in Jacksonville. He was asked if he was referring to Jacksonville,

and he declined to identify any local governments. course our mayor's office here was adamant that you know that he his references were not talking about this city so that's and he some reporters you know reporters uh you know uh kind of questioned whether you know whether or not uh whether or not um you know his his comments were uh were going to be going to provide any additional detail yeah i want to ask about that too i mean what did he say if they do find some of this what is going to happen or what is going to happen or what What is the kind of threat, I guess, hanging over city and county governments here, or the warning? Well, he threatened investigation as well as subpoenas for additional documents.

If there was, you know, going to be any folks going to stand in Doge's way. He usually used the press conference as a warning to these local governments. So all the way to possible criminal charges. So there was, those were the allegations he levied yesterday. Mm-hmm. We've been speaking with Mike Mendenhall, the associate producer and city government reporter for Jacksonville today. Mike, just before we leave you here, I mean, the budget hearings are going on a little bit. I mean, is this kind of audit going to be hanging over those hearings as they progress? yeah and i mean i think it's already had an impact we discussed the the reduction in the city's millage rate yesterday and uh just for reference jacksonville actually already has one of the lowest millage rates or the lowest mills rate of any major city in the state of florida um but you know

but the kind of the impact of the impact of that trying to fill that uh the kind of the deficit that was left by reducing the budget is it the the city council finance committee is really targeting health care initiatives which are one of uh one of the mayor's office large uh large initiatives. Mike Mendenhall, associate producer and city government reporter for Jacksonville today. Thank you so much. Coming up, Governor Rondi Satis wants to

redraw congressional maps. We'll answer your questions about redistricting. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio Station. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace, assistance

is available at 877-813-92115 or covering Florida.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Matthew Petty. Next week on our program, condo reform, we'll be talking about two new state laws that are meant to bring financial relief to condo owners. Now, if you're a condo owner, how will these laws make a difference to you? Email us and let us know. Let's turn now to redistricting. Governor Ron DeSanders says he wants the legislature to look into redrawing congressional maps. DeSanders said Florida got a raw deal in the last census and should have had more than one extra seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, the Florida House of Representatives is putting together a select committee on redistricting and, meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas are working to redraw their congressional maps, which would create five new Republican-leaning districts. A little bit later, we'll be joined by voting rights and elections experts, and we'll be taking your questions live. So if you've got a question about the redistricting process or some insight, give us a call 305-995-1800, send an email to Radio at the Florida Roundup.org. But first, our conversation with Douglas Sol from the Your Florida team

reporting on state politics from Tallahassee. Douglas, talk us through the basics of redistricting. When does it happen and what does it mean for Save Floridians? Matthew, thanks for having me on. And the gist of redistricting is actually pretty. simple. Of course, once you get into it, it's a lot more complex than cutting a pie or cake, but practically speaking, redistricting is when you slice up a map in the population and when you assign elected officials within the created geographic boundaries there. That's very important.

It determines who represents you in government and what the political party of that person is. So the next census is set to happen in 2030. DeSanna said there could be another census before then, could that happen? We'll see. DeSantis says he wants and he says the Trump administration is considering a mid-decade census. Redistricting experts who I talk to say there are logistical, legal, and practical barriers to that happening. Conducting a U.S. census is already incredibly expensive for one. Yeah, it's a massive effort, isn't it? Huge effort. And, you know, we live in a weird time, certainly though. So this one by DeSantis is worth

bothering. Obviously, that's why I'm here. All right. So what does DeSandis mean when he says Florida got a raw deal from the last census? So there's a lot of consensus that Florida was undercounted in the 2020 census. The federal government admitted it. When that happens, you stand to lose not only U.S. House seats, but also a ton of federal dollars, a lot of which are given in proportion to population. The nonprofit Florida Tax Watch has released reports, one of them recently, showing we lost representation, a U.S. House seat, and money. Experts I've talked to also point out something else.

California spent nearly $200 million on census outreach. Florida spent nothing, even though there were warnings at the time of an undercount. Now, my colleague, Megan Bowman, actually asked DeSantis about that last week. The governor said he thought that money would have been wasted. He also said blue states were using that kind of money to count immigrants who didn't have proper documents. Now, the U.S. Constitution, when it talks about a census, doesn't make the distinction there. So such immigrants have always been counted. Organizations like the Florida Tax Watch and a number of others say, if other states are counting them, Florida needs to as well, regardless of the governor's opinion on it.

Because if you don't try, you can end up in the situation Florida has ended up in, which is a undercount. Florida undercounted by an estimated at least 750,000 people. One thing that DeSantis has pointed out is that Florida did get a population surge right after the start of 2020. This is related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the census didn't necessarily pick that up. No, it didn't. And beyond just the undercount itself, that's one of the reasons the governor wants a count now, so that those population ads are counted. Now, Florida isn't the only state, obviously, considering or actively trying to redraw congressional boundaries. We're seeing what's happening in Texas.

Why is this happening? Yes, a good question there. This isn't just about the census. Our governor here in Florida makes that clear. So DeSantis says he's also looking at redistricting regardless of what happens with the census. Why? Well, you have to look at what's happening nationally. President Donald Trump urged Texas to change its map to add Republicans to the U.S.

House, where Republicans currently have a narrow majority. And there have been a lot of narrow votes on a lot of important things, most notably the so-called big beautiful bill from President Trump. Now, what's happening in Texas, listeners might have heard about Democrats fleeing the state so that the legislature can't actually convene to take up the map. All that's had a snowball effect. Now, obviously, you have Santa saying he's eyeing, redistricting. Democratic states like California are also saying they will take it up too. This is kind of a battle for the U.S. House majority in 2026. If maps were redrawn in Florida, what would that mean for Florida's congressional delegation?

So let's break down Florida's current congressional delegation, as we've talked about. At the start of every decade, the U.S. census is done, the nation's population count. After those results are in, states redistrict. It's interesting. The Florida Supreme Court just upheld Florida's current congressional map. There was a litigation about it. It's a map that DeSantis strong-armed through the legislature. Florida has 28 U.S. House seats in that map.

20 are filled by Republicans, eight by Democrats. Considering just about around 56% of Floridians voted for Donald Trump in 24, the map clearly doesn't represent the political realities of the state, the divisions of Republicans and Democrats in our population, and it gives a strong advantage to Republicans in terms of representation. That was by design, by design from DeSantis. He's bragged about that map. Now, DeSantis clearly wants to add more Republicans to Florida's congressional delegation.

And one of the ways he's doing that is by saying Florida should have more than 28 U.S. representatives and that there should be another U.S. census count so that we can pick up more U.S. House seats. But of course, as mentioned, he's also saying that he wants to redistrict regardless of whether there's a census count. Just so I'm clear, when one state picks up a seat or two in the U.S. House of Representatives because its population has grown, that means you're going to have another state somewhere else losing a seat or two. Yes, I mean, there's a set amount of U.S. house seats, and Florida currently has 28 of them. DeSanta says that Florida should have at least 29. Florida's Republican lawmakers have a supermajority right now in Tallahassee, but they haven't seen

eye to why with the governor a bunch of things this year, like Texas, for example, what are they saying about redistricting? It's important to point out that Governor DeSantis has far less power over the legislature now than he did earlier in the 2020s, which was when he could basically call all the shots. So if they don't want to, I think they're far less likely to get strong armed into it like they did with the current congressional map. But it's going to be a huge wait and see. The census hasn't revealed a ton of details about what exactly any plan with redistricting would be. Obviously, a big part of that is does the federal government do this U.S. census recount in the decade? Who knows? But it's something that we certainly need to watch

and see because this, let me make very clear to listeners, this affects so much more than Florida itself, so much more than our U.S. House representation and so much more than the federal dollars we get. If Florida adds more Republicans to the congressional delegation, huge, even controversial packages could pass that wouldn't have passed normally. So all I should be on Florida, if it does take up redistricting, just like all eyes are currently on Texas as they endeavor to add five U.S. seats that are Republican leaning. We've been speaking with Douglas Sol. He's part of the your Florida team covering state government. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on. Well, joining us now is Sharon Austin.

She's a professor of political science at the University of Florida. You can join the conversation as well. We're at 305-995-1800, taking your calls, questions and comments about redistricting. You can send us an email, radio at the Florida Roundup.org. Professor Austin, we got an email from Kate in Palm Beach. County, Kate, writes, let's address the confusion surrounding redistricting the reapportionment just last week, Governor Rondi Santa said, and I quote, I do think the state is malapportioned, so it would be appropriate to do a redistricting, end quote. Redistricting and reapportionment are two different things.

They happen separately. So just explain what is the difference between the two, Professor Austin? The difference is that when you think about redistricting at the beginning of every decade, because of population shifts, state legislatures have to look at these districts, and there are certain rules that they have to follow in terms. of putting together a district and some of those rules include they have to be contiguous meaning they the you can't just put together a lot of different neighborhoods that aren't connected to each other that aren't close to each

other they can't have any type of an unusual shape so they are very strict rules there was a case called Thornburg versus Gingles that put together us away or I guess a guideline for them to be able to put together the these districts. And so that's what redistricting is. Re-apportionment is the process of reallocating seats in a legislative body. So I guess a simple way of explaining it is that redistricting, this is like a tongue twister. It's like putting together the way that a district is supposed to shape and put together these districts. But reapportionment, that process results from the census, and it determines how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives.

So those are the differences. Can apportionment or reapportionment happen without a new census? Can you say that again? Can apportionment or reapportionment happen if you don't have a new census? Well, it's based on changes in populations that are determined by the census, the census that takes place at the beginning of every 10 years. to answer that question, no. It's largely, the number of seeds is largely allocated on the basis of population shifts and on the basis of the population as recorded in the census. Yeah. Let's go to the phones now. We've got Ed calling in from Orange Park, I believe. Ed,

are you on the line there? Yeah, thank you. I wonder if nobody has ever thought of why not do both And what I mean is do not count the undocumented, I mean, obviously you count the American citizens and legal immigrants and residents and so on, do not count it for the purpose of assignment of how many congressional seats. However, count them for the purpose of assignment of money coming from the federal government. So they will be included on the budgetary distribution. That would be a combination of both. That is a good question. Thank you so much for asking it. So what about that, Professor Austin?

Well, that's a very interesting suggestion, but I think the key word here is undocumented. And so whenever you talk about allocating anything on the basis of people who are not American citizens, then you have a very controversial thing. So, I mean, it's an interesting suggestion that the college is made, but it's very unlikely anything like that would ever happen, especially in the political context and political times that we live in now, when you hear so much, of a discussion about people being undocumented, even people who might have come to this country who aren't citizens, but are permanent residents.

And even with them, there's, I guess you could even argue a lot of hostility toward them. But it's really unlikely that undocumented people who live in this state will be counted in any type of way. I'm Matthew Petty, and you're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio Station. We've got a call from Shantra in Fort Myers. You're on the air.

Hello, good afternoon. I was wondering, are prisoners and folks that are in jails in the rural area counted as part of the voting population, even though they cannot vote, meaning cities and states can repopulate full folks from like the cities out to the rural areas, and then rural areas have a little more voting power. so are you saying if city or county or something has a has a prison within its boundaries does that population of the prison count towards the census the census and also like voting districts too when they quote jury manner yeah good question thanks for your call um professor austin what

about that okay i think if i understand correctly he's asking if people are members i guess formerly incarcerated and if they're living in rural communities, would they be voted in terms of the population? And if that's the question he's asking, the answer to that, of course, is yes. But in terms of voting, would they be voted in terms of the creation of districts? I think that's what he was asking. They would be voted, but they wouldn't be able to participate and they wouldn't be able to vote unless they have their voting rights restored. In 2018, Florida voters approved of amendment for, which allow for voting rights to be restored to some form of felons, not automatically to all, but there is a process that some of the felons can go through

unless they've committed certain crimes like murder or rape or others, but there is a process where they can get their voting rights restored and can then vote again. But in terms of counting, the answer would be they would be voted in terms of counting, but they wouldn't be able to actually vote unless they get their voting rights restored. So just to clarify, do incarcerated people count towards the census count and when, you know, a county or a city or a rural area, if there's a prison or a jail and it, you know, gets money apportioned to it? Yeah, they would count in terms of population. The answer to that is yes. Okay. I wonder about this idea of a mid-decade census. I mean, President Trump is posting about it on social media saying he's instructed the Department of Commerce to start working on a new census. what would need to happen for that to take place before 2030?

Well, typically the census takes place at the beginning of every decade, every 10 years. It's a decent, senual census. That would be something, I would think it would be very unlikely that that would be something that would be approved, but it is something that makes sense because the population shifts, but I think it probably would not happen because people would be, I think people are really just usually in opposition to change, and they would be so accustomed to having the census occur at the beginning of every decade and the population then be counted at the beginning of every decade.

And I think a lot of people would automatically be extremely suspicious if there was a suggestion that it would take place any time before that. So it's something that is trending on social media because President Trump is suggesting that, but I doubt seriously that that would happen. We just got about a minute left here. But Florida's House Speaker Daniel Perez says he's forming a select committee. committee on congressional redistricting. Does he need buy-in from the Senate? Like what happens from there? Because we did here in the past, or we've seen in the past, that the governor himself

has drawn a map and sort of sent it to the legislative bodies and said, yeah, this is the map. Well, I think that this has been one of the things that I want to point out in the brief time that we have left is that I've worked as an expert witness on several voting rights cases. And usually whenever there is redistricting, whenever that process takes place, there usually is a lot of controversy, and typically a lot of the controversy involves whether or not people of color, namely African Americans and Latinos, get adequate representation. And so that is something that has always been a case. And so possibly there is a need for a task force to look at the process and to make sure that that process is being carried out fairly. So hopefully that answers

your question. Yeah, lots of questions to come for sure, and we'll check back in with you. I have no doubt. Sharon Austin, political science professor at the University of Florida, thank you so much for your insights. Appreciate it. All right. Thank you for having me. Up next, a look at how school districts are getting ready for the new school year. That and more stories from around the state. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio Station. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by covering Florida Navigator program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. is available at 877-813-92115 or covering Florida.org.

This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Matthew Petty. It's the last weekend before school starts up again, and this year school districts are reporting fewer teacher vacancies. For the first time in a long time, the Lee County School District starts classes Monday with enough certified school teachers for every single classroom. The district's been woefully understaffed for years to COVID, a catastrophic hurricane, a shortage of affordable housing, and overall burnout because of the critical teacher shortage. But something changed this year, something that district spokesman Rob Spicker says began with the idea of believing that they could actually blunt losses and recruit more certified teachers. It was a whole shift in mindset from there's a

teacher shortage we can't fill these jobs to we're going to fill these jobs. As of July 31st, 65 positions were vacant. Spicker said a staffing agency will be used to place certified teachers in those classrooms until the jobs can be permanently filled. The 65 vacancies is a whopping 72% decrease from the 235 vacancies this time last year. Retention bonuses of up to $9,000, heavy marketing to fill vacancies even before the last school year let out, and the promise of having support staff in the classrooms can all be attributed to the district's gains in keeping teachers and recruiting new ones. When you're not fully staffed, you're putting more pressure, more asks on the teacher. Already got a strong.

stressful job, that did some burnout and some people who decided to change professions. But being fully staffed, they only have to focus on their kids. Central Florida schools are reporting fewer teacher vacancies. In Orange County, 0.5% of teaching jobs are still vacant, and in Brevard County, less than 2% of teaching jobs still need to be filled. Flagler County has no teacher vacancies. Some districts have more openings. Seminole has 20 vacancies, Osceola 56, Volusia 66, Marion 71, and Polk has 250 vacancies.

But that's still fewer vacancies than last year. Last week, Governor Ron DeSantis announced teacher vacancies statewide were down more than 17% compared to the 2024-2020 school year. But school districts might have another challenge at hand when it comes to funding. Florida's private school voucher program is draining money from public schools. From our partner station WUSF, Kerry Sheridan reports Sarasota school leaders have ideas to make changes. The Sarasota School District is losing $45 million. this year. That's taxpayer money going to private schools for scholarships. Local districts are feeling the squeeze, and years of asking lawmakers to fully fund public schools hasn't been successful.

Sarasota's supervisor of government affairs, Chris Parento, spoke Tuesday at a school board workshop about a new approach to lobbying. It would ask to ensure adequate and accurate funding for all students statewide. So the money truly does follow the students. That would mean in part asking for a new system to track how public money is spent on students, whether at public, charter, private, or homeschool situations. School board members from both parties say they're on board and may travel to Tallahassee this fall. I'm Kerry Sheridan in Sarasota. As students across the Big Bend head back to school, advocates say the occasion can bring both positives and negatives to families facing housing and security. From our partner station WFSU, Margie Menzel, has more.

Donna Coleman, Executive Director of the Big Ben Continuum of Care, says for some families, kids heading back to the classroom means parents can head back to work. And maybe we can find a job while my kids are in school, and we have kids who are not going to kindergarten and being able to go to kindergarten. Coleman says that could mean parents have more time to earn or aren't facing as much in child care costs. But she says there are other expenses associated with the start of the school year. like buying new clothes and supplies that could put a family with a tight budget over the edge. Coleman says there could be an added need for emergency funding to help keep those families in their homes. I'm Margie Menzell. Electric vehicle fires during floods create significant challenges for fire departments.

We are trying to catch up to the technology that's ever evolving. They're ever more present in our surrounding. David Tucker is a Hillsborough County Fire Investigator. He says EV owners who plan to evacuate ahead of a storm should map out charging stations along their route. If you choose to stay at home and you sustain any type of flood exposure or flood damage, make sure that you're contacting your dealership or service center and getting their recommendations before you just repower up the vehicle. He says owners of scooters, bikes and other devices powered by lithium batteries should also take precautions.

And if they get submerged in any way, He says it's safest just to get rid of them. The Florida Department of Health reports at least 21 people have gotten sick from drinking unpasteurized or raw milk from an unnamed Florida farm. University of South Florida Public Health Professor Jill Roberts says outbreaks caused by drinking raw milk are becoming more common. She says it's because of a rise in misinformation. We have plenty of data showing the risks from raw milk and no data showing the benefits

from raw milk. She adds E. coli, salmonella and other life-threatening bacteria. can be contracted by accidentally drinking raw milk, but it's unlikely. Six of the cases are in children younger than 10. Unpasteurized milk cannot be sold in Florida for human consumption, only for animals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not recommend drinking raw milk and says it does not offer health benefits. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said in a statement he encourages Floridians to, quote, protect their health by only consuming pasteurized milk products.

I'm Matthew Petty, and you are listening to the Florida Roundup, from your Florida Public Radio Station. Fringle Reyes was an asylum seeker in Tampa. Earlier this year, he was deported with more than 200 other Venezuelans to El Salvador's maximum security prison, known as the Center for Terrorism and Confinement. Recently, Reyes and the group were released as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Venezuela. W.S.F's Nancy Guan spoke with Reyes and his wife about the beatings and trauma he endured in those four months. At his parents' home in Zulia, Venezuela, Reyes,

miles through the computer screen. On the other side is his wife, Leonardo Sanchez, their son, and one-year-old puppy Sacha in their Tampa apartment. Sanchez says they've been together for seven years, and in those seven years, they've never been separated. Wherever I went, she was with me, says Reyes. But nowadays, they communicate virtually, messaging and video calling on WhatsApp for hours. The 25-year-old says connecting with his loved ones helps him heal.

In March, the United States government accused Reyes and other Venezuelans of having ties to the gang Tren de Aragua. The administration then invoked a rarely used wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act to send them to El Salvador's mega-prison known as Sikot, despite a federal judge's order. People cannot be sent to a country where they can be subjected to torture. Juanita Gubertes is with Human Rights Watch. The group documented extreme conditions in the prison. Killings within jails, cases of torture, of ill treatment,

cases of lack of access to adequate medicine and adequate food. Reyes is part of a lawsuit saying the administration didn't give people a chance to challenge their deportations there. Reyes says the beating started as soon as the plane landed. We were handcuffed on our wrists and ankles and couldn't walk, but they beat us when we fell, Reyes says. They kicked me here in the ribs, he says. It was inhumane.

I didn't understand it at all. But he says the worst was at night. The guards turned off the bright lights in the prison, and with night vision goggles, beat them in the dark. Even now at home, he says he has to sleep with the lights on. First of all, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem visited the El Salvador prison in March. This facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people. But according to DHS's own documents, Reyes has no criminal history.

His wife, Leonada Sanchez, points to multiple errors in the documents used to deport him. Here, it says his name is Ortiz Morales. And here, it refers to my husband as a woman, Sanchez says. The documents also list the wrong A number and ID used for foreign nationals. A DHS spokesperson maintains Reyes is a member of Thrende Aragua. The statement says, quote, many of the illegal aliens that the media counts as non-criminals are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters, and more.

They just don't have a rap sheet in the U.S. Reviews from multiple news and human rights organizations found most of the Venezuelans sent to Seacot had no criminal record, either in the U.S. or abroad, other than their immigration violation. And according to an analysis by the Cato Institute, at least 50 came to the U.S. through legal means. Little by little, Reyes says he's recovering

from the trauma. But he misses being with his family in Tampa. Sanchez, who has a pending asylum case with her son, is not sure what she'll do. Reyes was the main breadwinner, painting houses for a living. Without him, she's working longer hours as a cleaner, and now driving for Uber on the weekends.

We came to the U.S. for a better life. But she says, there isn't a life if they're not together. I'm Nancy Gwan in Tampa. And finally, a federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz. Attorneys are arguing whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving, or infrastructure for the next 14 days.

Environmental groups and the Mikasuki tribe asked U.S. District Judge Kaffirms. William's to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The lawsuit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars worth of environmental restoration. That's our program for today. The Florida Roundup is produced by WLRN Public Media in Miami and WUSF in Tampa. The show is produced by Bridget O'Brien and Denise Royal. WLRN's vice president of radio is Peter Mautz.

the program's technical director is M.J. Smith, engineering help from Doug Peterson, Ernesto J, Blake Bass, and Geogavin. A theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist, Erin Leibos at Aaron Leibos.com. If you missed any of today's show, you can download it and pass programs on the NPR app. Thanks for calling in and listening. Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813 or covering Florida.org.