Governor Rick Scott Celebrates Teacher Raises with Five Stop Tour

Piper High School was the first stop in Scott’s Teacher Pay Raise Pep Rally Tour.

Governor Rick Scott stopped by Piper High School Monday as part of his Teacher Pay Raise Pep Rally Tour, where he celebrates the $480 million teacher pay raises bill approved by legislators.

“Success is tied to the hard work of our students and teachers,” Scott said. “It takes an entire team to have a great school and a great school district.”

The controversial bill gives raises based on teacher evaluations, including student performance. Under the plan, teachers ranked as highly effective would receive a $3,500 pay increase and those ranked as effective would receive a $2,500 raise — while those considered to need improvement or to be unsatisfactory would not receive a raise.

Florida Legislators Approve Plan for Teacher Raises

“Districts will have the flexibility to give every teacher a pay raise,” Scott said. “This is a huge victory.”

And despite initial criticism of the bill, Robert Runcie, Broward County Schools Superintendent, was now seeing things differently.

“We would've liked some more flexibility but we'll have to work with what we have and move forward,” Runcie said. “Today begins a path toward compensating them appropriately,” Runcie said.

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Scott spoke about the future of teacher pay raises and received applause from the students at the high school.

“All of our teachers are going to have the opportunity for a pay raise,” Scott said. “It's the right thing for teachers, it's a great day for teachers, it's a big victory for our teachers.”
 

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