Education a key focus for lawmakers, DeSantis in 2025 state budget

Yahoo

06-02-2025

TALLAHASEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Governor Ron DeSantis is urging lawmakers to consider his state budget proposal one month before they are back in Tallahassee to begin the 2025 legislative session. Education will be a key focus of the budget, with lawmakers in both parties paying close attention.School safety, tuition, and teacher pay are all top priorities for lawmakers at the statehouse.
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'Teacher pay, teacher pay, teacher pay. Our teachers continue to be under funded in (the) state of Florida, alongside public school administrators, and this is leading to thousands of vacancies across the state of Florida that is fundamental to the success of our state,' said State Representative Anna V. Eskamani. 'We can't have a top tier workforce without investing in our kids and their education. That's a big priority for me.'
DeSantis says among all education initiatives; teacher pay is one of his proudest proposals.
'We are now proposing a $1.5 billion teacher pay categorical. Which locks in the gains and then adds about one fourth of a billion dollars on top of what we've already done,' he said.$1.5 billion, an increase of $246.7 million, in funding that must be used toprovide salary increases for eligible teachers and other instructional personnel.
$1.76 billion in funding for early child education, including a total of $465.8million for Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) initiatives.
Historic $29.7 billion in funding, of which $16.1 billion is record state funding forthe K-12 public school system.o This covers the costs associated with the current projected enrollment ofover 3.2 million students, including almost 358,000 students projected toparticipate in the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.
$1.7 billion in state operating funding for the Florida College System.
$3.9 billion in state operating funding for the State University System.
$130 million in total funding to reward quality nursing education programs toaddress nursing vacancies.
$100 million for the State University System for the recruitment and retention ofhighly qualified faculty.
Republican lawmakers add that in the budget the state has to continue to support not just our teachers, but law enforcement, firefighters, and student coaches.'In the education area, in addition to just teachers, I'd like to see more focus on our coaches. Our coaches are some of the lowest paid coaches in the entire country. A top paid coach in Florida makes around $6,000 a year,' said State Representative Adam Anderson. 'And if we think about the benefits our coaches provide to our student athletes and our students, it extends far beyond the football field and the baseball field.'
But while lawmakers agree on teacher quality, there may be underlying issues at play.
'It's important to note, just how many different types of culture war pet projects are in this budget. Governor DeSantis is suggesting more money being spent on evaluating different types of programs he doesn't like (in) the higher education space,' Eskamani said.
While it is required by the Constitution for the governor to make budget proposals, it's up to state lawmakers to decide what's in and what's out.
The legislative session begins on March 4, 2025.
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