Lynn Hatter

The Senate’s Education Appropriations Subcommittee has released a budget that boosts K-12 education funding by more than a billion dollars. The figure includes additional funds for performance-based teacher pay raises, and restores cuts to state universities. But the first draft of the budget falls short of funding for the state’s transition to digital education.

The Florida Senate has outlined a $1.1 billion spending proposal for K-12th grade education that includes the $480 million Governor Rick Scott has called for to fund teacher pay raises.

Scott has said he wants to see every full-time Florida teacher get a salary increase, but the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee has other ideas. Under an initial outline, the awarding of pay raises will be left to districts which will draw up plans for distributing the money and send those plans to the Florida Department of Education.

Governor Rick Scott is shrugging off new poll numbers from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling group that show him training well behind potential Democratic Challengers.

Longtime state board of education member Kathleen Shanahan says Florida has worked for more than a decade to create a performance-based funding system for teachers. And she’s not a fan of across the board pay raises.

“To give it to every teacher when not every child has gotten the advantage of an increased ability to learn. I don’t think it’s reflective of what this State Board or our education reform agenda is about at all," she said,

Rep. Clay Ford, (R-Gulf Breeze) died Monday night of Cancer. He has been absent from the legislature since the opening day.

He was first elected to the Florida House in 2007 and served as Deputy Whip.

Ford had a long career in politics spanning two states. Originally from Arkansas, Ford served in that state's House of Representatives from 1975-1976. He was a member of Arkansas' Pulaski County Special School Board from 1977-1979 and was an Arkansas Constitutional Convention Delegate in 1978-1979.