Florida education was a big winner in this year’s legislative session.

Even with some money constraints on legislators, there were no cuts made to the education budget. And in some cases there were increases. This is a great thing according to Florida Department of Education press secretary Thomas Butler. Of all the things that money will do, one big one is how much can be spent per student.

“It’s a 6-point 8 percent increase over the spending last year. So what that does that brings up the spending per student to 7-thousand 305 dollars and 79 cents. And what that means is that’s more money that can be spent on your son or daughter as far as their education goes and that’s always a good thing.”

The budget this year will also mean there will be an increase of almost 28 percent in operating funds for smaller class sizes. And there is now more money according to Butler for reading and virtual tutoring programs.