Governor Rick Scott’s promise to increase public school funding to record spending levels has local school districts crunching numbers, and his supporters carrying on the message.
Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart is touting the Governor’s education spending plan, which calls for nearly $20 billion to be put toward K-12 education. That averages out to nearly $7,200 hundred dollars per student.
“It’s $50 more than the highest it’s ever been and $239 higher per-pupil than last year. So when we think of it in those terms, it will provide districts with a great deal of money that they are going to have flexibility to be able to do the things they know are important," Stewart said.
According to preliminary numbers from Leon County School officials, the district would see closer to $7,100 per-student. That’s still more than $280 above the current per-student level. That's a $7 to $8 million increase for education in Leon County.
Some districts would see more than the governor’s figure and some less, because the state’s education financing structure depends on local property taxes.
