TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis wants Florida teachers to make more money.
On Monday, he announced a proposal to increase the minimum salary for teachers across the state to $47,500.
According to the governor's office, this would affect more than 101,000 teachers statewide.
Currently, the starting teacher pay in Florida is $37,636, according to the National Education Association.
DeSantis is asking the state legislature to approve an additional $600 million in education spending to increase the minimum salary for teachers.
The governor said this in a statement:
"We are experiencing a teacher shortage in Florida. With a strong economy and plenty of jobs available in other fields, unfortunately too many college graduates are unwilling to enter the teaching profession. My proposal to increase the minimum salary for teachers to $47,500 will help alleviate this shortage and elevate the teaching profession to the level of appreciation it deserves. This is long overdue, and I look forward to working with the legislature to make this a reality."
DeSantis made the announcement Monday morning in Clay County.
On Monday afternoon, he's scheduled to visit Bayview Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale.
Today, I announced my proposal to increase the minimum salary for teachers in FL to $47,500. This will help alleviate the teacher shortage in our state and elevate the profession to the level of appreciation it deserves. This is long overdue. More here – https://t.co/msPFdCMgJF pic.twitter.com/Uik9W3b013
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 7, 2019
Education has been a top priority for DeSantis since he took office in January.
Earlier this year, he announced a plan to eliminate Florida's controversial Common Core program, which will remain in place until at least Jan. 1, 2020.
In February, he laid out a proposal to offer more scholarship opportunities to students with special needs.
Then in April, he outlined his goal to clear the wait list for Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship program. The program is designed to give low-income students better educational opportunities that they normally wouldn't get because of limited financial resources.
This story was originally published on WPTV.
