HIALEAH, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday announced plans to put $1.25 billion toward increasing teacher pay in the upcoming state budget.
DeSantis said it’s an increase of close to $250 million in funding over the previous year and can only be used to increase salaries for teachers. The governor said Florida has invested over $4 billion in teacher pay increases and has raised starting teacher pay by nearly $10,000.
“Florida’s education system is number one in the nation, and we want to make sure good educators are attracted to Florida with attractive compensation,” DeSantis said. “I am proud to have invested more than $4 billion for teacher pay increases since the beginning of my time in office, and I will continue to push for increased funding for Florida’s teachers.”
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According to a recent report from the National Education Association (NEA), Florida ranks 50th in the nation in teacher pay with an average of $53,098. The average starting salary is 16th in the nation, according to NEA, at $47,178.
DeSantis and others in attendance at the news conference at a Hileah public charter school used the news conference to attack teachers unions, which are responsible for negotiating raises, and tout controversial new legislation that put restrictions on how they operate.
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“The school unions have become ultra-partisan. They’ve been trying to impose a left-wing ideology. It’s like wait a minute, are you representing teachers to get better paid benefits or are you trying to push a political agenda? And unfortunately, so much of it has been about pushing a political agenda,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also attacked the NEA, the largest labor union in the United States.
“They are obviously going to generate things that are going to be reflective of a positive use for union-dominated states and negative for people that have actually beaten the teachers union like we have in Florida,” DeSantis said.
But the teacher salary numbers shared by DeSantis were similar to those from NEA.
For the 2023–2024 school year, DeSantis said Florida’s average starting teacher pay was over $48,000, and the average teacher salary exceeded $54,000.
DeSantis said the raises will apply to public school teachers as well as those teaching in public charter schools.
