Gov. Rick Scott on Monday defended his proposal to give across-the-board teacher raises against critics who say only the best teachers should get raises, by arguing the proposal is essentially a reward for good teaching.
Scott touted several rankings that have shown improvement in Florida schools, as a way of saying the teachers working in Florida now all deserve a merit raise.
“This is tied to success,” Scott said Monday in an interview with Fox Radio 92.5 in Fort Myers. “We’ve made a lot of progress the last two years.”
He cited recent rankings which show strength in reading among fourth graders and another that showed Florida’s teachers “are the most effective teachers in the country.”
Scott also noted that since tenure has been eliminated, the teachers who weren’t performing can now be dismissed. “So this is tied to success,” the governor said. He also said he continues to support the ongoing merit pay raise system that is in the rulemaking process now.
Scott has proposed that lawmakers this year give all teachers a $2,500 pay raise, but it’s not clear that the Legislature is going to go along.
