TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For months, Kaden Young has been calling on leaders in Jacksonville and statewide to save the courses he says, made him into the person he is today.
“I know I wouldn’t be the same person,” said Young. “I wouldn’t be standing here today doing this interview.”
Many local school districts, were worried about a proposal to cut school bonus funding by 50 percent for students that pass accelerated courses like AP, IB and AICE.
But Tuesday, the Florida Senate’s latest proposal got rid of that, fully restoring the funding.
“It’s like jubilant almost,” said Young. “It’s what we’ve been fighting for this entire time and to see that it might have sparked some change its everything I could have dreamed of honestly.”
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
The new plan says those dollars will be split, with districts permitted to spend 20 percent on discretionary spending, while 80 percent will go into a new fund reserved for bonuses and other incentives.
“We’re simply putting that money into a categorical that way we can just account for it more. But the same amount of money will be there,” said Senate K-12 Appropriations Chair Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills).
“We know just how important it is for those courses, those classes and those students,” said Duval County School Board Member Darryl Willie.
Willie says happy with the senate’s proposal, but says there is still work left to do with the house still needing to agree with it.
“We’re going to continue to have these conversations and relationships with our folks up in Tallahassee to make sure that they understand how it will affect us,” said Willie.
And as lawmakers prepare to debate, Kaden wants them to remember- this funding can change lives.
“These are lifelines,” said Young. “They’re not luxuries, they’re necessities.”
Live: “The House K-12 budget Chair spoke to reporters after this evening’s meeting, indicating the House is also considering a categorical option like the Senate, though the two sides still need to agree on a final plan.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
