Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democratic candidate for that job in 2022, made a stop in downtown Kissimmee last week to meet with area business owners to learn more about their needs, and get their ideas how Florida could create a strong post-COVID-19 economy.
“This is the fastestgrowing county in the state. I’ve been here several times,” he said while taking the opportunity to meet with Osceola County Clerk of Courts Kelvin Soto, but not just for his court experience.
Soto, a two-term Osceola County School Board member prior to his election as Clerk, discussed public education with Crist from both administrative and family points of view. Crist shared that two of his sisters were teachers in Pinellas County, and his father served on the School Board there.
“We talked about funding education,” Soto said.
Crist said education is a critical focus going forward in Florida.
“How we treat our children and our teachers will guide how our future looks,” Crist said. “Education is the equal opportunity provider in our country, so we have to fund it appropriately.”
Crist is one of a handful of Democrats, including Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, seeking the nomination. After switching to that party, Crist ran against an incumbent Republican governor in 2014 (Rick Scott) like he will do in 2022 against Ron DeSantis. On the same day as Crist’s Kissimmee visit, DeSantis formally filed for reelection.
“When I became governor, I pledged to foster economic opportunity, support K-12 education, usher in a new era for Florida’s Everglades and water resources, ensure the integrity of our elections and stand for public safety and the rule of law,” DeSantis said in an announcement release. “I have delivered on all fronts: Florida’s economy is strong, we’ve boosted teacher pay, made historic investments in Everglades restoration and water quality, signed strong election integrity legislation, provided unparalleled support for law enforcement and appointed strong constitutionalists to our state courts.
“I also protected individual Floridians and small businesses by keeping Florida open and stood up for students and parents by ensuring schools provided in-person instruction and by championing the rights of parents. And I’ve only just begun to fight.”
DeSantis came to St. Cloud and the Canoe Creek K-8 school Wednesday, touting added spending in his 2022 state education budget, if the Legislature passes it.
The highlights included $1,000 bonuses for Florida’s teachers and principals for the second year in a row, $600 million to raise minimum teacher salaries from $40,000 to $47,500, proposing recurring funding for progress monitoring that would eliminate FSA testing, and adding funding to get perstudent funding to $8,000 for the first time in Florida history.
“When I became governor, we were in the bottom half of states for average salaries. This would put us in the top 10,” he said.
He said he’d hoped this would help stem the state’s shortage in teachers.
“It’s not unique, we see it all throughout the economy,” DeSantis said of the shortage. “What was done federally with COVID changed the dynamics of the labor market.”
