DeSantis signs bill for $500 million in teacher raises

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is sticking to his promise to give teachers $500 million in raises despite plummeting state revenue because of the coronavirus. DeSantis signed the bill at a Miami-Dade County school Wednesday. Raising teacher salaries was a top priority for DeSantis in the legislative session that ended in mid-March, just as the state was shutting down because of the pandemic. The bill will raise the minimum teacher salary to $47,500 and provide other raises. While DeSantis said he will have to make some other hard budget decisions, he said he's fully committed to teacher raises.