Gov. Rick Scott | Credit: Gage Skidmore - Flickr

People shouldn’t read anything into Rick Scott releasing his proposed budget for the next fiscal year at the Capitol on Wednesday, the governor said last week.

In February, Scott traveled to the rural Central Florida town of Eustis, releasing his requested budget before a friendly crowd of tea party conservatives.

“There were a lot of people there," Scott said Friday of the Eustis turnout. "Thing is, a lot of people will be here."

See video of Scott addressing reporters on Friday here.

The big issues remain federal government funding for Medicaid -- the state would prefer being given a lump sum that it could disperse -- and education, as the state’s federal stimulus money has come to an end and property taxes are expected to be down 3 percent across the board in Florida, further reducing revenue, he said.

“This is going to be a tough year to try (to) figure out how to do the right things, because we have to do the right thing for education, because it’s the future of our state,” Scott said.

“If our kids can’t get a great education, then we won’t have the partners we’ve already had this year, where we’ve had 18,000 private-sector jobs.”

The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference has projected the state will have 1.3 billion fewer dollars to play with next year than in the current year. Scott said the shortfall could approach $2 billion, with K-12 education down $1.2 billion if no changes are made to the revenue stream.

Florida schools are projected to grow by 30,000 students when the 2012-13 school year begins, which on its own is an increase of $191 million. The drop in property values will cut $200 million from education funding, Scott said.

Scott told the Daytona Beach editorial board on Nov. 28 he is “not going to raise taxes.

The governor’s budget release is earlier this year because the regular session is starting in January, moved from up from March due to redistricting.

In February, Scott proposed a nearly $66 billion budget, down $4.6 billion from the prior year.

Scott -- after vetoing $615 million -- would end up signing a $69.1 billion budget from legislators in May for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2012.

Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859 or (772) 215-9889.