LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing larger bonuses for Florida's teachers through the state's Best and Brightest Program, but the big question is will this help with the state's shortage of teachers?
We spoke to a Leon County educator about the proposed changes.
Public schools currently have more than 2,000 open jobs in classrooms across the state according to the Florida Education Association.
DeSantis wants to increase the bonus teachers earn through the Best and Brightest Incentive Program for hitting performance benchmarks.
Public school teachers are currently capped at a $6,000 bonus. DeSantis hopes to bump that to $9,000.
Scott Mazur, President of the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, is an opponent of this change. He says only one quarter of educators across Florida actually get these bonuses.
"We need more than just a quarter of the teachers to stick around," said Mazur. "When you take the same amount of money and you put it into salary and divided by all the instructional staff that's out there, that's about a $2,300 salary increase."
DeSantis's proposed state budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year included $422 million for the Best and Brightest Teacher Incentive Program.
Changes to this program will need legislative approval during the session that starts March 5.
The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, says the best way to attract and keep qualified teachers is by increasing salaries across the board, not just offering bonuses.
