Gov. Rick Scott will seek an “across-the-board” pay raise for Florida’s public school teachers due to cost about $480 million, he said following the state Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He declined to break the figure into percentages or say how much of a per-teacher increase he will ask legislators for, saying he will discuss further details when he appears at Ocoee Middle School in Central Florida later today.

“The National Chamber Foundation said we are No. 1 in teacher quality," Scott said. "I’ve traveled the state, I’ve talked to teachers. They’re working tirelessly to make sure our students have achievements."

The funding will eventually be part of the governor’s budget that will be presented to legislators next week.

The proposal is only for full-time teachers. He deferred comment when asked about other state workers, whom the state Supreme Court ruled last week must continue to pay 3 percent of their pay into the Florida Retirement System-defined benefit plan.

Scott has suggested revising an effort to impose merit-based raises for state workers.

“I believe in measurement, I believe in accountability and we’re going to continue to work on that, but right now the right thing to do is an across-the-board pay raise for all of our full-time teachers,” he said.

Last year, Scott's message included $1 billion more in funding for schools than in 2011, but didn’t direct any money toward pay.

Rep. Doug Broxson, R-Midway, commended the proposal but cautioned that any allocation depends upon the economy and state budget, which is currently projected to have a slight surplus for the next fiscal year.

“Whatever we do, it needs to be a one-step approach,” Broxson said. “If we get into the entitlement, where we promise a raise, we don’t know about the economy, what position the Legislature will be in next year. But I think the governor is on the right track.”

In September, during an “education listening tour,” Scott hinted that schools had to do a better job prioritizing how money is used to help teachers.



Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.