68 Florida Districts To Give Teachers $40,000 Starting Salary

FLORIDA — Teachers, school principals and superintendents are hailing the state's $101.5 billion budget, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday, as a big win for public schools, noting that it includes $765 million in funding to support Florida’s teachers.

This includes $550 million to continue elevating minimum teacher salaries, as well as $215 million to provide all of Florida’s eligible public school principals and teachers with $1,000 disaster relief payments.

The $550 million to raise minimum teacher salaries represents an additional $50 million over last year’s historic $500 million investment.

Over the past year, minimum pay for Florida’s teachers increased by an average of $6,000 from $40,000 to $46,000. Overall, 68 of Florida’s 74 school districts (92 percent) now have a starting salary of $40,000 or higher.

“While most other states locked down their schools, Florida followed the science and opened our schools for in-person instruction five days a week,” said DeSantis. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our teachers and school leaders, Florida succeeded where so many other states failed. I can’t thank them enough for their hard work and dedication during this school year and these bonuses are a small way to say thank you on behalf of our state.”

“Gov. DeSantis has proven once again that Florida is the Education State,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran. “His exceptional leadership and bold vision has taken Florida’s minimum teacher salaries to an average of $46,000, and his focus on celebrating and elevating our educators is unparalleled. The way to ensure that Florida has the best teachers is to outpace the nation in minimum teacher pay and to reward, recruit and retain the best teaching talent possible. Thank you to the Florida Legislature for heeding the governor’s request to prioritize our state’s educators.”

“Dedicated teachers across Florida have gone above and beyond over the last 18 months to make certain our students have every opportunity to continue to make learning gains in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby. “In addition to increases in funds available specifically for teacher salary increases, I hope these bonuses will demonstrate just how much our state appreciates and values the contributions of Florida’s teachers.”

“During this pandemic, we were reminded of the importance of Florida’s teachers to our children,” said Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor. “While other states kept their schools closed, Florida opened them up and allowed students to return to normalcy. I applaud Florida’s teachers for stepping up and giving students the ability to learn in-person from the classroom. Thank you, Gov. Ron DeSantis, for these bonuses.”

While receiving accolades for raising teacher salaries, DeSantis also faced criticism from parents of special needs students for signing off on House Bill 7045, which repeals the Gardiner and McKay scholarship programs and transitions special needs students receiving school vouchers into the income-based Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.

The program allows families earning 375 percent of the federal poverty level to be eligible for private school vouchers.

Parents fear this will reduce the benefits they've been receiving to send their children to schools designed for special needs students.

At the same time, school districts are concerned about DeSantis' support of the "schools of hope," the state program that allows operators to open charters near traditional public schools that are deemed “persistently low performing.”

The state program, championed by Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran two years ago when he was Speaker of the House, is intended to entice high-quality charter school operators to open schools in areas where public schools are performing poorly.

Critics say the program reduces the very funding needed for school districts to elevate these low-performing public schools.

See related story: FL Gov Wants To Give Principals, Teachers $1,000 Bonuses