TALLAHASEE, Fla.- Gov. Ron DeSantis took the floor Tuesday afternoon share that the state still has a long way to come.
▶ LISTEN TO ORLANDO’S MORNING NEWS EXPRESS PODCAST ON WDBO
DeSantis took office for his first term in 2019, with a “bold agenda” in mind. With the beginning of his second term, he claims that “together, we have made good on that agenda.”
He reflects on state modifications in areas like teacher’s pay, higher education systems, funding everglades restoration, and lowering state taxes.
Education:
DeSantis applauds Florida’s investment in civics education under his administration, with new programs at state universities like the Adam Smith for Economic Freedom at Florida International University and the growth of University of Florida’s Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education.
“These programs embrace the values that comprise the foundation, not just of the American republic, but of Western civilization itself,” DeSantis said.
In 2023, DeSantis signed a group of legislation to help Florida’s teachers, including one billion dollars allocated to increasing teacher pay for the 2023 to 2024 school year.
Currently, DeSantis touts that Florida has the highest average minimum teacher salary in the southeast region. Since taking office in 2019, he has stated that the state has provided almost six billion dollars to teacher pay.
While, this may legislation may have an emphasis on changing average minimum salaries, other southern states have reported surpassing Florida in overall teacher salaries, like Georgia and Tennessee.
The National Education Association’s data on educator data from 2022-2023 shows that Florida’s average teacher salary was roughly $53,000 dollars. Georgia sits at $64,000 and Tennessee at $55,000. Both states also show a larger percent change from 2022-2024 than Florida.
Environment:
In the address, the governor highlighted how his administration has made steps toward everglades restoration, “We’ve completed a record number of projects, tripled the water storage capacity throughout the glades, and advanced the completion of the EAA reservoir by five years,” DeSantis said.
The EAA Reservoir Project is expected to deliver close to 470 billion gallons of clean water to the Everglades and Florida Bay, it’s also expected to support the Biscayne Aquifer, the main source for South Floridians’ drinking water.
Economics
The governor is spending the rest of his term focusing on property tax relief. In address, he calls on the legislature to work with him.
“Tax relief is at the discretion of the people acting through our constitutional amendment process,” he said. “You should be able to own your home.”
Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.