Florida governor's race: Candidates roll out competing education plans

CENTRAL FLORIDA — The two men running for Florida governor unveiled competing education plans Tuesday with some major differences between the two.

The top line for Democrat Andrew Gillum is $1 billion. Gillum, at a press conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday discussed his plan to raise a billion dollars for education by increasing the state’s corporate tax rate by about 2 percentage points, calling the plan a benefit to businesses that will in turn get a better educated workforce.

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“We have got to invest in our next generation, we have got to invest in our children,” said Gillum, who wants to use the money to raise teacher pay up the national average, with starting salaries at $50,000, invest in vocational training, and return per-pupil funding in the state to pre-recession levels.

“We are going to improve early childhood education, the segment of our education that we know is most important to the outcomes of our kids, not just in those early years, but over the arc of their lives,” Gillum said.

But making changes to the corporate tax rate may be difficult. The Florida Constitution requires 60% of the House and Senate to vote to increase the corporate income tax rate; something that may be a nonstarter in a Republican-controlled chamber.

Meanwhile on the Republican side, Ron DeSantis rolled out his six-point education plan.

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The DeSantis plan calls for: committing at least 80% of education spending on classroom instruction, vocational training, expanded school choice, continued merit pay for teachers, a review of curriculum Standards and continuing to support higher education.

On his campaign site DeSantis wrote, “Florida’s education success story was made possible by allowing for innovation in education coupled with choice for families and public accountability.”

Along those lines, the DeSantis plan keeps in place many of the programs championed under Gov. Rick Scott, including expanded charter schools and merit pay. However, DeSantis has said he would like to “bring the Constitution back into the classroom” with his site saying he “will work with the Legislature to develop and pass policies that ensure a renewed emphasis on teaching America’s founding principles and ensure that the Constitution is put back into the classroom.”

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