Thousands plan to rally in support of public education at Florida State Capital

ORLANDO, Fla. — Thousands of teachers, parents and students are expected to gather in three weeks for a rally at the Florida State Capital in Tallahassee to advocate for public education.

Based on comments from lawmakers and the governor, the vice president of the teachers' union said he's hopeful lawmakers will provide schools with more money.

But supporters plan to show up the day before session starts to get their message across.

“People are saying it is time to really pay attention to our public schools,” said Andrew Spar, vice president of the Florida Education Association.

Spar said supporters will rally over testing, local control of schools and especially funding.

The union wants billions more to address issues like the teacher shortage and teacher pay.

“It is about funding, no matter what you talk about,” Spar said. “It's about funding. It comes down to funding.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed raising the minimum teacher salary to $47,500, but the union worries that would leave behind more experienced teachers.

The governor is also proposing a new bonus program for teachers and principals totaling $300 million.

“We've heard a lot of lawmakers in leadership positions talk about the fact that they want to do right by the teachers and staff in our schools, and they want to address the funding of our schools, so we're really hopeful,” Spar said.

The union said there have been rallies before but not as big as this.

More than 100 buses are expected to travel to the capital for the event.

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