Rick Scott proposes increase in school securing funding

As part of a package of promises to increase education spending, during the 2014 campaign Gov. Rick Scott promised "to increase school security by $10 million to over $74 million." His budget for the upcoming legislative session takes a step toward that goal.

In his 2015-16 budget proposal, Scott recommended an increase of $14.25 million -- for a total of about $78.7 million -- for the Safe Schools Allocation, a fund for public safety. School districts can spend the money in a variety of ways, including for after-school programs for middle school students; programs to correct behavior; suicide and bullying prevention; school resource officers and detection dogs. Each school district gets $250,000, and the remainder is allocated based on a formula that takes into account crime statistics and student enrollment. (For example in 2014-15, Miami-Dade County received about $10 million and Hillsborough County received $3 million.)

The Safe Schools Allocation has existed for more than a decade. The total pot remained at $75 million for several years until it dropped during the economic downturn, which started under Scott's predecessor Gov. Charlie Crist. In 2010-11 when Scott started, the total pot was about $67 million. In Scott's first budget, it dropped to $64.5 million for 2011-12 and then stayed at that level for the next few years.

Scott is on track to achieve his promise of increasing school security by $10 million if the Legislature goes along with his plan when it convenes March 3. It's worth noting that much of his proposed funding increase follows years of cuts and then stagnant funding. For now, we rate this promise In The Works.