Florida Lawmakers Back Slight Increase in Student Funding

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By BRANDON LARRABEE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 28, 2017……… The House and Senate agreed to a relatively modest increase in per-student funding for public schools Friday, as negotiations continued over state spending for the budget year that begins July 1.

Under an agreement reached by leaders, per-student spending through the state’s main formula for schools would increase 0.34 percent, or $24.49 a head. Discussions on other education projects were expected to continue.

Lawmakers’ ability to significantly increase per-student funding was hampered by two decisions that carried out other House priorities: to not allow local education property taxes to rise with real estate values, and to plow more than $400 million into teacher bonuses and the House’s “schools of hope” proposal.

Neither of those two items is included in the main formula, known as the Florida Education Finance Program, or FEFP. But lawmakers involved in the education budget talks said not accounting for the additional spending doesn’t give a full picture of what the Legislature is doing for education.