I would bet that if you ask Florida teachers if they are a fan of Rick Scott, a majority of them would say no (except for those who get featured in his promotional ads). Reason number one for that disdain might be Scott's signature on one of the more divisive pieces of legislation (in recent years) to come down the pike in state education — a bill (SB 736) that tied teacher pay raises to test scores, and cut some teacher's pay.
That was in 2011. Now we're in 2013, a year-and-a-half from the primary elections in Florida, and Scott's poll numbers have steadily remained amongst the lowest in the nation. But he has been trying to convert himself into a friend of education, asking for $1 billion more dollars in education spending in 2012 (after cutting $1.3 billion in 2011).
Now the governor may really be on to something with his announcement today that he intends to ask the Legislature to increase the pay of every public school teacher in the state by $2,500.
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2013.
