Gov. DeSantis unveils 2020 State education budget proposal

Encouraging…

This week Governor DeSantis unveiled his state budget recommendations for the 2020 Legislative Session.  While some in education still have some additional ideas, concerns, and hopes about budget funding and policy development for the 2020 session, and while no budget recommendation is perfect— this is an encouraging budget recommendation for public education and I look forward to sharing with our Legislators about how we can improve it more for the students in Citrus County and Florida.

As one reviews the Governor’s budget and see things one likes and doesn’t like, it is important to remember that this is only a recommendation, it is the Legislature that has the authority and responsibility of creating the state budget.  It is important to understand that the governor’s recommendation highlights the spending priorities and new policies that the Governor looks to pursue.  Governor DeSantis’s budget serves as a guide to the 2020 Legislature as it takes on the more detailed task of developing and passing a balanced state budget.  Follow this link for an excellent side-by-side comparison of 2019-2020 Florida State Budget on Education and the Governor’s 2020-2021 Budget Recommendations- https://fsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Comparison-Gov-Budget-2020-21-Budget.pdf.

Please continue to share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas about how we can help make the Florida 2020 Legislative Session positive and successful for our students and schools.

Here are some key items in the Governor’s recommended budget:

• • An increase of more than $1 billion in total FEFP funding – mostly due to the salary and bonus packages
  • A $50 increase in the Base Student Allocation
  • Continuation of the partial roll-back of the Required Local Effort millage rate
  • Continuation of the Funding Compression Allocation
  • Elimination of the Declining Enrollment Supplement
  • Modest increases in most categorical programs
  • State PECO funding set at nearly $174 million for charter schools and $50 million for traditional public schools
  • Increased funding for Special Facility Construction to add three more districts for their 1st year
  • A $60 million increase in Workforce Education Funding

(Thank you to Florida School Board Association for information that assisted in writing this article.)

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