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By BRANDON LARRABEE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 11, 2017......... Lawmakers will begin debate Wednesday on two very different budget plans, with the House proposal about $4 billion lighter overall than the Senate version.

The bottom line differences are smaller --- the Senate budget for the year beginning July 1 officially weighs in at $83.2 billion, compared to $81.2 billion for the House --- but the Senate doesn't account for $2 billion in higher-education tuition.

After both chambers vote on their proposals --- probably on Thursday --- formal negotiating will begin, with legislative leaders first having to decide how much money to devote to each area of the budget before conference committees hammer out agreements on how to spend the funds in each pot.

If lawmakers want to leave Tallahassee by May 5, as scheduled, all the discussions have to be finished by May 2 to allow for a constitutionally required 72-hour "cooling off" period before a final vote is taken.

Here's a look at some of the high-profile issues lawmakers will face:

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Some of the sharpest differences between the two budgets are in public education --- which includes divisions over teacher incentives, property taxes and a House plan to spur charter-school creation near academically struggling schools.

The Senate is far more generous in the main funding formula for elementary and secondary education, increasing the per-student spending by almost $210 a head --- about 2.91 percent. By contrast, the House would boost it by a shade over $19 per student, or about 0.27 percent.

The difference essentially boils down to whether lawmakers accept an increase of $535.1 million in local property tax revenues known as the "required local effort." The House says the rise in homeowners' property tax bills makes that a tax increase; the Senate says the increased funding is caused by the growth in property values, while the tax rate stays the same.

However, the House also plows money into two programs not included in the Senate budget. House budget-writers would spend $200 million on the controversial “Best and Brightest” bonus program for teachers, while the Senate would zero it out.

Another $200 million under the House plan would go toward "Schools of Hope," meant to encourage non-profit charter school operators with track records of high performance among low-income students to open campuses in areas where traditional public schools have received "D" or "F" grades on state reports cards for more than three consecutive years. The Senate hasn't created that program.