Proposed education funds would be helpful, but not enough
Gov. Rick Scott speaks to staff and guests during a visit to a South Florida charter school in Opa-locka, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011. Scott said he wants to give Florida parents and students more choices in education to meet the learning needs of each individual student. That includes school vouchers for low-income students, and Scott said he would support expanding vouchers to more children. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Florida Gov. Rick Scott rolled out his proposed budget this week, emphasizing a $1.2 billion increase in education funding over last year. The budget is a proposal only at this point, and the legislature must still tweak and study to ensure the increase is doable. After the budget is finaliz ed and voted on, it goes back to Scott for his signature (or vetoes, as the case may be.)According to the Department of Education, the $18.5 billion budget being proposed for public schools includes these K-12 highlights:
$480 million for teacher salary increases, $100 million for digital learning initiatives, $10.5 million more for safe schools for a total of $74.9 million, a 16.2 percent increase and $412.25 per student increase overall in Florida Education Finance Program or FEFP (the formula used to calculate per pupil funding) for a total of $6,799 per student.
