Gov. Ron DeSantis Announces $1,000 Bonuses For Florida Teachers, Principals

BAKER COUNTY (CBSMiami) – It's official. Public school teachers and principals in Florida will receive $1,000 bonuses, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Wednesday.

Speaking at Baker County Middle School in north Florida, Gov. DeSantis said the bonuses are part of the state's $100 billion budget that the Florida Legislature agreed on. DeSantis says he will sign the new budget soon.

"We're proud that we got the bonuses through," DeSantis said. "We understand that it was a unique set of circumstances that many of our schools had to do."

Full-time teachers in both public schools and public charter schools, pre-K through 12th grade, will receive the money, said DeSantis.

DeSantis said the bonuses are a reward to educators for all of their hard-work and dedication to make in-person learning available to students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The superintendents in Florida, the principals, the teachers overwhelmingly wanted to get back, wanted to give the kids the ability to learn face-to-face because they understood how important it was," DeSantis said.

A total of $765 million will go to supporting Florida's teachers. It includes $550 million to continue elevating minimum teacher salaries, as well as $215 million for the bonuses.