Men hoping to be Florida’s next governor shared their vision for the future of education at a Central Florida event this weekend, with most saying they wanted to hike state teachers’ salaries and all agreeing there were enormous challenges ahead.
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Speaking to members of the Florida Parent Teacher Association, former U.S. Congressman David Jolly, the Democratic frontrunner, and two Republicans — former state House Speaker Paul Renner and GOP firebrand James Fishback — all promised during remarks Saturday that, if elected, they would hike teacher pay.
Florida’s average teacher pay ranks last in the country, according to the National Education Association.
Congressman Byron Donalds, the Republican frontrunner thanks in large part to the backing of President Donald Trump, addressed the PTA conference Friday. He did not mention teacher raises during his nearly 30-minute remarks.
The candidates took the stage one at a time and did not debate during the conference at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.
The impact of Florida’s universal voucher program — which makes every student eligible for a scholarship that can be used for private school tuition or homeschooling services — on public schools was a frequent topic as was high-stakes testing, literacy skills and school budgets.
Jolly, a Republican-turned-Democrat from St. Petersburg, said Florida abandoned public education under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. His proposed a 10-year “renaissance” that would use the tourist-development taxes to give teachers a 30% pay raise, fix failing infrastructure and set up mental health services and anti-hunger programs within the education system.
He also sharply criticized the voucher program, which he promised to keep, but reform, by making it means tested. Until 2023, vouchers were available only to students from lower-income families or those with disabilities. But a new state law that year changed it, making all students eligible and voucher use jump sharply while public school enrollment declined.
“Whoever receives the [GOP] nomination is going to insist that we continue down this road. A road that abandons public education,” Jolly said, “disenfranchises families with a choice program that is not required to teach kids to read and ultimately pursues a crisis that we will not find our way out of.”
Renner, who championed the 2023 law as the leader of the House, rebuffed criticism that the voucher program contributed to declining enrollment, saying that problem was largely due to demographics.
He said improving teacher retention is key to improving public schools and said he supports giving teachers a raise, as part of his campaign’s broader focus on affordability, though he didn’t specify by how much. He also wants to reverse what he claimed was the state’s decline in student literacy.
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“We need to make a high school diploma matter again,” Renner said. “We need to make sure that we don’t have 40% of our students who can’t read on grade level. This needs to be a Manhattan Project-type effort,” he said, referring to the federal government’s project to develop the world’s first atomic bomb.
Fishback, an investment executive whose made headlines for racist and antisemitic remarks on the campaign trail, said he proudly supports public education and public school teachers, including his sister. He wants to ensure that families have the ability to send their children to excellent public schools and proposed a 25% raise for teachers.
He said he supports Florida’s voucher program but wants to make sure public schools get the funding they need.
“I believe that students and parents want to go to a public school. That public school should have the resources, the funding, the teachers, and most importantly, safety and security,” Fishback said. “The safest place for a student to be should be at a Florida school, and we will make that happen.”
Part of the forum was dedicated to audience questions. When an audience member asked Fishback about an incident where he told a Black man he “should be lynched” for “lying” about him, Fishback sidestepped the question. Several people in the audience then loudly called out that he didn’t answer the question.
During his Friday remarks, Donalds said he remains a staunch supporter of the state’s voucher program but wants to create what he called a “universal scorecard,” where data on educational outcomes at all schools would be available to parents so they can make an informed choice on where to send their children.
“They deserve to direct where these educational dollars go for their students. I think the responsibility of the next wave of education,” Donalds said, “is to compete for those dollars, so that they have a robust environment that parents are choosing.”
Currently, Florida reports test scores, graduation rates and A-to-F letter grades for all public schools. There is no similar reporting requirement for the private schools that now educate thousands of Florida students using state-funded tuition vouchers.
Donalds also said he wanted to overhaul the standardized tests Florida students take starting in third grade, moving away from state exams and focusing more on nation ones like the ACT and the SAT. He also wanted to introduce new tests that could better measure student progress.
He said while testing reform is key to ensuring students are prepared to enter college, he also wants to expand apprenticeship opportunities for students who don’t go to college.
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