Leaders with Marion County Public Schools are celebrating the approval of a half-cent sales tax to fund school construction and repairs.

Voters in two Central Florida counties on Tuesday night said they wanted to pay a half-cent sales tax to fund repairs, renovations and maintenance costs for public schools.

Voters are heading to the polls in two Central Florida counties to decide whether they want to pay a half-cent sales tax to fund repairs, renovations and maintenance costs for public schools.

Students will go back to school on Aug. 12 in Marion County, many with a different starting time than they are used to.

Several counties across Central Florida are in need of bus drivers for the upcoming school year. Listed below are the employment needs for the different districts.

Officials with Marion County Public Schools are offering tours at some of its schools to showcase the need for repairs and improvements, according to a news release.

News 6 investigated and found 80% of Marion County's school maintenance requests do not get fixed because the district does not have the $840 million to do it.

Marion County Public Schools is considering creating uniform start and end times across the district, which would potentially change start and end times to the school day by hours for some schools.

Ocala police say an arrest has been made as officers and Marion County deputies investigate a social media threat received by several schools which mentions specific teachers.

When severe weather strikes, Central Florida school districts base their decisions on closures on various criteria.

Idalia prompts school closures in Marion County.

Marion County Public Schools are set to tackle a growing issue in the district as rates for student absenteeism and truancy are now higher than the state average.

Forest High School went on a precautionary lockdown Friday morning after a firearm was located in a restroom, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Marion County Public Schools will celebrate International Walk to School Day to educate families about the hazards and scenarios students may encounter walking to school.

Employees were not in the building and no one was injured in the incident.

Four fights on an Ocala middle school campus Wednesday resulted in the arrest of nine arrests and 13 suspensions, according to Marion County Public Schools.

The Marion County Public Schools launched a new app for near-instant school bus locations, according to a press release on Monday.

Marion County students are reaching beyond the stars as their science experiment prepares to blast off on a SpaceX rocket this summer, according to the school district.

A student who was injured in a 2018 shooting at a Central Florida high school is seeking more than $30,000 in a lawsuit filed against the school district.

As of Thursday, Marion County Public Schools posted a COVD-19 decision tree for students on the district’s Facebook page.

Marion County Public School announced mobile hiring units to help hire bus drivers

Marion County Public Schools says its bus stop off of Highway 318 is safe.

10-year-old Ja'siah Williams was struck, killed by a vehicle while walking to his bus stop.

Marion County Public Schools announced Friday masks are now completely optional for students, staff and campus visitors.

School districts across the country are experiencing teacher shortages.

Marion County Public Schools continue the search for bus drivers and substitute bus drivers.

Marion County Public Schools will designate a home school liaison to each school.

The school board for Marion County Public Schools voted on Thursday to make face coverings optional for students, staff and parents on school grounds during the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

Fourth graders in Marion County Public Schools are getting an extra incentive to read.

The Marion County Public School District says it is holding its largest Summer School program in the past 15 years.

A new ban by the Florida Board of Education on "critical race theory" education is unlikely to impact local curriculum.

Students will not be required to wear face coverings or masks during summer classes at Marion County Public Schools after a unanimous vote from the school board.

Members of the Class of 2021 in Marion County Public Schools will receive either six, eight or 10 graduation tickets based on class size and capacity limits of graduation venues.

Due to the pandemic, students were allowed to invite up to two guests for last year’s graduation ceremonies that took place in the school’s football stadiums.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Beginning in 2021, all middle and high school students in Marion County Public Schools will receive free meals at no cost. The change is credited to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program, according to the county. The addition of other school-aged children allows for more students to regularly receive meals. The school district reports it serves an average 14,000 breakfasts and 21,000 lunches per day. During the first 10 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the district provided nearly 475,000 student meals, according to MCPS.

OCALA, Fla. – Several Central Florida school districts have canceled classes because of potential impacts from Tropical Storm Eta. The Sumter County School District said its schools will be closed Thursday but classes will resume Friday. UCF is monitoring Tropical Storm #Eta and its possible impacts in Central Florida, which could begin on Thursday morning. — UCF 😷 (@UCF) November 11, 2020Classes at the University of Florida were canceled Thursday and the campus will be closed, according to the university. UF Alert UF classes canceled, campus offices closed Thursday, Nov. 12 because of TS Eta.

At the start of the second nine weeks of school 2,000 students decided to return to Marion County brick-and-mortar schools, according to the district. An additional 1,700 students using MCPSOnline were forced back into to the classroom due to academic or attendance concerns. With thousands of students returning to the classroom, school board members said there are some challenges. If not, making sure they have a mask or face shield on,” said Marion County Public Schools Chairman Eric Cummings. School board members said they are expecting some guidance from the Florida Department of Education this month on how they will move forward for the rest of the school year.

Never do we have our full projected student enrollment on the first day of school... even on the fifth day of school. So they dont even know school has started, Marion County Schools spokesperson Kevin Christian said. We reached out to other Central Florida school districts about their attendance and heard back from Orange County Public Schools. If the district social worker can't contact the student or their family, that case will move forward to the Florida Department of Children and Families. The Marion County Schools district said with the different learning options, it may take some time to get a better idea of what attendance looks like.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. Soon, students across Marion County will return to the classroom for the first time since schools moved to an online-only model in March when coronavirus cases were first detected in the state. Marion County Public Schools has a plan in place and is ready to welcome students back on Aug. 10 as safely as possible with increased hygiene measures. Below is everything you need to know about Marion Countys back-to-school plan:Start date: Aug. 10As of now, there are no plans to alter the school start date in Marion County. Learning optionsParents in Marion County can choose between two options:Traditional learning: The goal with this option is to provide the standard in-person classroom experience with some new safety protocols in effect. Learning option deadline: July 22Parents need to fill out this form in order to pick an option for their child.