State education department lauds budget proposal

The Florida Department of Education on Thursday, Dec. 9, applauded Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed budget, including proposals that will invest record funding in the state’s public schools.

The budget includes a second year of $1,000 bonuses for Florida’s teachers and principals; $600 million to raise minimum teacher salaries for the third consecutive year from $40,000 to $47,500; and the highest per-student funding in the state’s history at $8,000 per student.

“I am incredibly thankful for the bold commitment Gov. DeSantis has made to make Florida the Education State,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran. “We must continue to act with urgency in seeking innovative ways to improve the quality of education we provide students. As Florida continues to be a national leader in education, these historic investments will undoubtedly help us focus on the individual needs of students to help them grow academically.”

The governor’s proposal for the FY 2022-23 education budget recommendation also includes a proposed $421 million for school safety and mental health initiatives. That funding includes $210 million for the Safe Schools program (an increase of $30 million over the previous year), $140 million for mental health (a $20 million increase over the previous year), $42 million for school hardening grants and $4 million for safety initiatives at Jewish Day Schools.

DeSantis is also proposing three major investments in Florida’s new education initiatives and innovative education programs:

• To fully eliminate the Florida Standards Assessment and implement progress monitoring in its place, DeSantis is proposing $15.5 million in recurring funding to provide progress monitoring tools to schools.
• DeSantis is also proposing $500,000 to continue the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative, which has already expanded from 11 to 48 districts, and with funding will now be able to expand into every school district in the 2022-23 school year.
• To further efforts to make Florida the number one state for workforce education by 2030, $534 million in funding to support workforce education programs is included in the proposed budget. The governor’s budget also includes $100 million for the Workforce Development Capitalization Grant Program, which will create and expand workforce development programs at Florida’s school districts and state colleges.

DeSantis has also proposed $25 million to preserve and maintain the Freedom Tower in Miami.