Gov. Rick Scott announced plans on Thursday to raise education spending to record highs, drawing fire from his leading Democratic opponent.
Scott proposed increasing education spending to more than $19.6 billion, increasing per-student spending to $7,176, which is $232 more than last year. The previous record high was $7,126 from 2007-08 when Charlie Crist, who was then a Republican, was governor.
“I am proud to announce that in the upcoming legislative session we will propose an increase in Florida’s per-pupil spending to the highest level in our state’s history,” Scott said. “We already have the highest total spending in K-12 this year and gave every teacher the opportunity for a pay raise. Because we were able to get Florida’s economy back on track, revenues are now projected to stay at a strong enough rate to support historic investments in education.”
Scott insisted that Florida’s revived economy allowed him to increase education spending.
“Florida job growth, and the overall growth of Florida’s economy has made it possible for us to invest record amounts in education,” said Scott. “The credit for our historic investment in education goes to the hard-working people of Florida who make it all possible.”
Scott also invoked the importance in education to help Americans secure a better life.
“My mom taught me that a good education was the way out of poverty and I want all Floridians to have the opportunity to receive a great education and have their shot at the American dream,” Scott said. “By increasing per-pupil spending to historic levels next year, school districts will have more resources to provide Florida children the best education possible.”
But Crist, who left the GOP in 2010 and joined the Democrats in 2012, dismissed Scott’s proposal as an election-year gimmick. Crist is the favorite in next week’s Democratic primary over former state Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, despite positioning himself for many years as a conservative Republican.
“I’ve never waited for an election year to advocate for our schools,” Crist insisted on Thursday.
The Crist team pointed toward an interview he did with WESH 2 News in Orlando at the end of July, in which the former governor said he would fight to increase education spending and hit Scott on the matter.
Noting Scott had an “almost $3 billion surplus” to work with, Crist said in the WESH interview that he was a better advocate for more education spending.
“I spent more on per-pupil funding than Rick Scott ever has,” Crist said in the interview. “The answer is who really cares about kids and who will make it a priority.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
