JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bonus funds offered to school districts for students who pass advanced and career technical courses may no longer be at risk.
Action News Jax State and Local Government Reporter Jake Stofan was first to highlight the revised proposal included in the Senate’s latest K-12 budget offer.
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For months, students have been raising concerns about the legislature’s plan to cut the awards in half and calling on lawmakers to maintain funding at current levels.
Now, Senate K-12 Appropriations Chair Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) has explained the bonus dollars will be fully funded.
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Those dollars will however be split up, with districts permitted to spend 20 percent of the funds on discretionary spending, while 80 percent will go into a new categorical fund reserved for teacher bonuses, school bonuses and other district incentives.
“Basically, we are staying the course with how things are now, reverting from our original position during regular session and 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 Burgess.
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House K-12 Budget Chair State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers) also spoke to reporters after Tuesday evening’s budget conference meeting.
She indicated the House is also considering a categorical option like the Senate, though the two sides still need to agree on a final plan.
“By creating a categorical, we have transparency. You know what that pot of money looks like, and then we’re looking at making sure we allocate that in a way that equates to what would be allocated using the add-on weight method,” Persons-Mulika said.
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