Article originally appeared on floridapolitics.com.
Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a series of proposals aimed at increasing teacher “empowerment,” including plans to hike their pay, give them more authority to impose discipline among students and end automatic deduction of union dues from their paychecks.
The pay increase would add $200 million to the $800 million already inserted into the budget to fund teacher pay hikes, bringing the annual total to $1 billion. DeSantis first pushed for the pay increases in 2020, with a $500 million bump, before putting in another $300 million this budget year.
If the Legislature approves the latest funding increase, DeSantis said the average teacher starting salary would reach $48,000 per year.
Not every K-12 school district, however, has seen teachers receive those pay increases. DeSantis blamed local school districts and unions, which must reach agreements for the pay …
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