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Governor Scott Pitches Record Education Funding For Upcoming Fiscal Year

Florida Governor Rick Scott is following through on his campaign promise to boost the amount of money going to the state’s public K-12 Schools.

During the Great recession Florida and many other states, cut their budgets, including education.

Florida sustained a billion-dollar reduction in education funding during Governor Rick Scott’s first year in office, The Governor has pushed for education increases since then. And this year Scott is promising record education spending. His proposal calls for per-student spending levels to rise to nearly $7,176. That’s a $260 boost above current funding levels, and about $50 more than the pre- recession peak in the 2007-08 school year.

Even the usually critical Florida Education Association, a teachers union, issued a statement in support of the Governor’s proposal. If approved by lawmakers, public school funding could near $20 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.

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Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. 

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