Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that Florida teachers and principals will receive $1,000 bonuses, with the money expected to go out this summer after the budget is signed in the coming weeks.
The announcement came alongside $765 million in total education funding. That includes $550 million to keep raising minimum teacher salaries and $215 million to provide $1,000 disaster-relief payments to every eligible public school principal and teacher in the state. Three weeks earlier, DeSantis had announced $1,000 bonuses for Florida first responders.
DeSantis was joined by teachers, principals and superintendents from Baker, Sarasota and Okaloosa counties. Over the past year, Florida’s minimum teacher pay rose by an average of $6,000, from $40,000 to $46,000, and 68 of the state’s 74 school districts — about 92 percent — now start teachers at $40,000 or more.
“While most other states locked down their schools, Florida followed the science and opened our schools for in-person instruction, five days a week,” DeSantis said, crediting educators for the state’s approach during the pandemic.