Legislature may move up date of pay raise

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida's teachers may get a proposed pay raise sooner than expected.

Senate President Don Gaetz on Tuesday said that legislators did not intend to delay a proposed teacher pay raise until June 2014.

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House and Senate budget negotiators Sunday night agreed to spend $480 million on teacher pay raises. But they included a provision in the new $74.5 billion budget that would have delayed the pay raise until next year.

Gaetz said the intent was to require school districts to hand out the raises by that date.

A spokeswoman for the Senate said legislators will likely pass a separate bill this week that makes it clear that the raises can be distributed out prior to next summer.

Gaetz contended that the June 2014 provision came from Gov. Rick Scott's office.