TALLAHASSEE
The chairman in charge of crafting the Senate’s education budget proposal signaled again Thursday that Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s plan to increase K-12 education dollars primarily off the checkbooks of local taxpayers isn’t going to fly.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, is preparing his fellow senators to consider other options including ones that would require a greater share of state support — something that’s not likely to be met well by Scott, who’s also seeking a $1 billion tax cut in 2016-17.
The initial presentation by Gaetz came as no surprise. The former school board member and elected school superintendent in Okaloosa County has been critical of Scott’s intentions since September, when Department of Education officials first broached the idea with their legislative funding request.
