State budget funds district’s Hurricane Ian recovery, more

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

The Framework for Freedom Budget, which was signed by Gov Ron DeSantis, fully funds the School District of Lee County’s Hurricane Ian Recovery appropriation requests and other legislative priorities in an amount of $21 5 million

B o a r d m e m b e r D e b b i e J o r d a n s a i d e v e r y t h i n g t h e y h a v e a s k e d f o r , t h e y received

She said district officials traveled to Tallahassee multiple times to speak to local representatives, but also to representatives from different districts to share their wishes before legislative sessions began

“When we were up there we felt good because they understood what we were going through with Ian We are still in recovery Knowing we have the financial stability with the hurricane and having the funds that we need to grow our CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs and technical college is an economy driver The entire community will benefit from that,” Jordan said

“Florida continues to lead the nation on all fronts, and we have laid the groundwork for generations of success,” DeSantis said in a prepared statement. “Through this year’s budget, we have cemented an econ o m i c f r a m e w o r k , w h i c h s u p p o r t s Florida’s families, business owners, and students in the pursuit of a prosperous future ”

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, Sen Ben Albritton, Sen Jonathan Martin, Rep Jenna Persons-Mulicka, who also serves as the Lee County Delegation chair, Rep Mike Giallombardo, Rep Spencer R o a c h , R e p A d a m B o t a n a , a n d R e p

“The School District of Lee County is very appreciative of all of the bills, which our local Legislators sponsored in this year ’s Session. In addition to much-needed hurricane relief, the Lee County Legislative Delegation championed bills increasing school safety, career and technical education expansion, after school programs, and per student funding We are grateful that the Legislature passed these bills and that Gov DeSantis signed them into law, which made the Legislative Session a huge success ”

T i f f a n y E s p o s i t o c o m p r i s e t h e L e e County’s Delegation

Jordan said Passidomo has always been about the technical colleges

“We do understand the need for the workforce and making sure we have something for everybody. Everybody will not go to college,” Jordan said, adding that offering programs at technical colleges will get those students workforce ready

A little more than $17 5 million was granted for the school board’s appropriation request, which was sponsored by Martin and Persons-Mulicka The fully funded monies are for the district’s documented, non-reimbursable, hurricane relate d c a p i t a l l o s s e s T h e a p p r o p r i a t i o n requests for the non-reimbursable operational losses were also submitted and will be addressed by a grant made available by the legislature for school districts impacted by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole

“The School District of Lee County is very appreciative of all of the bills, which our local Legislators sponsored in this y e a r ’ s S e s s i o n , ” S c h o o l B o a r d C h a i r Armor Persons said in a prepared statement “In addition to much-needed hurricane relief, the Lee County Legislative

School Board Chair Armor Persons

Delegation championed bills increasing school safety, career and technical education expansion, after school programs, and per student funding We are grateful that the Legislature passed these bills and that Gov DeSantis signed them into law, which made the Legislative Session a huge success ” includes:

■ $2,500,000 for safety and security technology to be installed in schools for the purpose of maintaining safe and secure learning environments for students and staff This was sponsored by Martin and Esposito

■ $1,244,000 to expand the CTE programs at Cape Coral Technical College to include Automotive Service Technology, Marine Service Technologies, HVAC-R, Welding Technology, and other construction-related and building trades programs This was sponsored by Martin and Roach

■ $250,000 to provide expanded after school activities to ensure students are provided with a safe and secure after school environment, which was sponsored by Martin and Botana

In addition, the Framework for Freedom

Budget also raised the per student funding by $405 to a record per student investment of $8,648 in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) The total FEFP funding for K-12 public school system is $26 8 billion

Other investments include:

■ $1 1 billion in funding, an increase of $252 million to provide salary increases for new and veteran teachers and other eligible instructional personnel

■ $1 6 billion in funding for early childhood education, including more than $ 4 2 7 m i l l i o n f o r V o l u n t a r y P r eKindergarten

■ $635 million to support workforce education programs

“On behalf of our Board, staff, students, and families, we are extremely grateful to the Lee County Legislative Delegation and Gov Ron DeSantis for understanding our unique needs and then supporting our requests all the way to approval in the state budget,” Lee School Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said in a prepared statement “The investm e n t i n o u r D i s t r i c t w i l l e n s u r e o u r schools, students, and staff see a full recovery from the damage caused by Hurricane Ian With the legislators’ help and the Governor’s signature, we will also be able to expand our program offerings to our students and make our campuses safer ”

There are also two Back-to-School sales tax holidays scheduled, one in the fall and one in the spring with an estimated savings of $160 million on school supplies The holidays will cover clothing up to $100, school supplies up to $50, learning aids and jigsaw puzzles up to $30 and personal computers and accessories up to $1,500