ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants to spend millions of dollars of the state's budget on getting Florida students better prepared to enter technical fields.
It's all part of his Keep Florida Working plan.
The governor revealed more of his plans during a visit to St. Augustine on Friday.
During his visit, Scott toured the campus at St. Johns Technical High School. He told the students his focus was to give them the resources they need to get the experience and training required to jump right into the career field of their choice.
"Whether they're going to go right out of high school, to prepare them for a job or state college or university, it's great training," Scott said.
Scott proposed nearly $20 billion for the 2015-16 K-12 public education funding. That's the highest education funding in the history of the state of Florida.
On top of that, Scott is proposing the state put $20 million toward technical schools.
"When you provide the funding, that means you're giving us more people to teach the students, more equipment for the students to practice," said Cynthia Williams, principal of St. Johns Technical High School.
That's what educators said businesses are looking for in new employees -- people with experience in their career field. With additional funding, technical schools can purchase new machines and other equipment to better train students for jobs.
"When you have the training to begin with, you can get a job right out of the gate and get moving," said Alycia Sikes a senior at St. Johns Technical. "I have friends who don't have that, and they're trying hard to get moving, but they don't have the experience."
Scott said the economy has turned around and taxes from higher property values and increased revenue from tourism will help fund this new budget.
Scott will submit his proposed budget by the end of January and that will include the $20 million he plans to put toward technical schools. Of course, that will have to be approved during the legislative session that starts in March.