Scott's latest budget proposes funding boost

Gov. Rick Scott's budget proposal for the 2016-17 school year would help him achieve one of his key education promises from his re-election campaign: boosting K-12 per pupil spending to an all-time high per pupil funding level of $7,176.

On Nov. 23, 2015, Scott released his budget proposal, which sets aside $7,221 per student. That amount is about $116 higher than 2015-16, and would put Scott above the record amount in 2007-08 under his predecessor Gov. Charlie Crist. But it comes with an important caveat: the majority of the extra funding would come through local property taxes -- not state coffers.

This is Scott's second attempt at achieving this promise since his 2014 re-election. In 2015, he proposed a per pupil amount of $7,176, but that didn't end up being a priority for the Legislature during a contentious session that ended abruptly amid a fight over Medicaid expansion. In the end, the budget Scott signed ultimately resulted in a per-pupil amount of about $7,105.

The state Legislature convenes Jan. 12 for a 60-day session, so we won't know the final outcome of the education budget until March. For now, we rate this promise In the Works.