Governor Rick Scott presents $15 million check to Broward School District
Governor Rick Scott acknowledged Broward County’s public schools that sustained high student performance or demonstrated substantial improvement in student performance by presenting a check totaling more than $15 million in School Recognition Program funding to Superintendent Robert W. Runcie. The check presentation was made before an audience of educators and community leaders at Piper High School in the City of Sunrise. Schools can use their award dollars for faculty or staff bonuses, to purchase educational equipment or materials, or hire temporary staff to help maintain or improve student performance. Statewide, school recognition funding totals more than $134 million.
Governor Scott said, “Florida students and teachers were ranked 6th for educational quality, our fourth-grade students scored among the best in the world in an international reading survey, and we recently learned Florida students are number one for percentage of students taking an AP exam. In conjunction with our proposed $1.2 billion in educational funding as part of the Florida Families First Budget, the school recognition funding will allow our teachers and students to continue on their path of success.”
Florida’s School Recognition Program acknowledges the quality of public schools by giving financial rewards based on sustained or significantly improved student achievement in reading, mathematics, science, and writing. Schools eligible for recognition awards include those receiving an ‘A’ school grade, improving at least one letter grade from the previous year, or improving more than one letter grade and sustaining the improvement the following school year. Alternative schools that increase their school improvement rating or are rated “improving” also qualify for awards. The school staff and school advisory council at each recognized school jointly decide how to use the financial award.
As part of his Florida Families First Budget, Governor Scott requested an increase in School Recognition Program funding to $125 per student, up from $93 this year. State funding for K-12 education in the Florida Families First Budget totals $10.7 billion – the highest state funding level in history. Included in this historic total is $480 million to support $2,500 pay raises for Florida’s K-12 classroom teachers, plus the cost of associated benefits.
Total funding for K-12 education in the Florida Families First Budget is $18.47 billion, an increase of $1.25 billion, or 7.3 percent, over last year’s budget, which also invested $1 billion in K-12 education. This increase represents per student funding of $6,799, an increase of more than $400 over the current fiscal year.
“We are pleased that Governor Rick Scott made a special visit to Broward County to recognize our outstanding schools, teachers and staff with more than $15 million in school recognition funds, said Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert W. Runcie. “The School Recognition Program rewards our best teachers and I am proud to say that Broward has many in this category. Governor Scott’s Florida Families First Budget proposal to increase funding for a program that directly benefits our dedicated teachers and staff is commendable.”
