ORLANDO, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis had a busy morning in Central Florida on Tuesday.
He spoke Tuesday morning at the Florida Sheriffs’ Association 2024 Summer Conference in Orlando.
As he did at the Republican National Convention, DeSantis spoke against Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana in Florida.
He said it’s been tried in Colorado, California and New York, and he doesn’t think the results justify making the change in Florida.
“I understood the argument for it, (but) it didn’t work,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis again argued that the ballot summary doesn’t tell voters what the amendment actually says and that the courts should have kept it off the ballot.
READ: Ballot summary and full text of Amendment 3
The governor then headed to the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando to speak to teachers at the 2025 Florida Teacher of the Year roundtable event.
Press play below to watch the governor’s remarks to teachers:
DeSantis acknowledged the five finalists from 74 district teachers of the year who were nominated by their colleagues:
- Samantha Nelson, Florida State University School
- Jennifer Brown, Marion County
- Heather Stewart, Walton County
- Jaime Suarez, Hernando County
- Dr. Clayton Nylund, Hillsborough County
Each received a $20,000 check, and all 74 nominees will receive $10,000 each.
The 2025 Teacher of the Year will be announced at a gala on Thursday in Orlando. The winner gets an additional $30,000.
“We’re fortunate the state’s doing very well and we have a really good budget, we have low debt, so it allows us to do that as well as reduce taxes,” DeSantis said, mentioning the upcoming back-to-school sales tax holiday.