For the first time in six years state economists say Florida will have a budget surplus. And a good chunk of the leftover money could go to teachers. Governor Rick Scott wants to give every teacher in the state a $2,500 pay raise.
It would cost $480millionin all, though the legislature would first have to approve the pay raise.
Education advocates say it’s a step in the right direction. But many say the plan to pay teachers more comes at an odd time.
When Governor Rick Scott took office the very first bill he signed into law required all schools to evaluate teacher performance. If they get a poor evaluation they can lose their jobs and whatever rating they get will determine their salary, but not until 2014.
Outside Treasure Island Elementary School in Miami 5th grade teacher Beverley Dowell says it doesn't make sense to pay every teacher more money before those "bad teachers" have even be identified.
“On one hand you're cleaning us out of the system, on the other hand you're going to reward us with $2,500 because according to the Governor we truly deserve it”, said Dowell. “So let me see, we have to be concerned.”
Some say the governor is trying to court teachers now as his bid for re-election gets closer. In his first year as governor he cut more than a billion dollars in education spending. And he's cut teacher salaries by 3% when he required them to contribute to their retirement pensions.
But Governor Rick Scott now says teachers deserve the raise. He recently went on an education listening tour and says he heard stories of teachers doing a lot with a little.
“Now I believe in merit pay, I believe in measurement, I believe in in accountability, and we're going to continue to work on that” Scott said. “But right now, the right thing to do is an across the board pay raise all for full-time teachers.”
Teachers like Dowell - who's been teaching for 18 years - say they're not holding their breath.
“I don't want to be overly skeptical but I would want to say I'm being realistic”, said Dowell. “We have been down this path before, where we have been promised increase in educational funding only to have it be slashed.”
Even if the legislature approves the pay raise there's a chance teachers still won't see the money. Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association - Florida's teachers union, says it's up to each school district to decide whether they would use the money specifically for teacher raises.
“And there's other demands for money. Everybody is talking about increasing security costs, so that, you know that's going to cost money”, Ford said.
The Governor is considering putting the money in a fund that would make it harder for districts to use it for anything other than teacher raises.
The average teacher salary in Florida is $46,000. That's $10,000 less than the national average. State Senator Joseph Abruzzo wants to change that with a constitutional amendment. The Palm Beach County Democrat has filed a measure that would require Florida teachers to be paid at least the national average by 2015. The funding would come from the general revenue.
“We would have to prepare, ramp up for it, allocate for it, knowing that it is coming” Abruzzo said. “We can do this, we as the fourth largest state, we can afford to take care of our teachers.”
Legislators will decide whether to put Abruzzo's proposed amendment on the ballot next November, and then it will be up to voters. During the upcoming legislative session Florida lawmakers will decide whether to add an additional billion dollars in education spending.