2018 FL Governor's race: on Education

Andrew Gillum: $1 billion Fair Share investment in public schools

Ron DeSantis (R): No statements found on funding, but prefers setting policy at local level.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Proposes a $1 billion "Fair Share" investment in public schools covered by increasing state's corporate tax rate & legalizing & taxing marijuana.

Q: Education: Support the expansion of charter schools or help parents send their children to private schools with public money?

Ron DeSantis (R): Yes. Expand both charters & vouchers. Let federal dollars follow students to any schools their families choose.

Andrew Gillum (D): No. Against vouchers & "unaccountable, for-profit charter schools who use public dollars to enrich their executives."

Andrew Gillum: Make college debt-free for nurses & teachers

Ron DeSantis (R): No statements found on state funding, but more training support for students who enter workforce from high school.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Wants to make college debt-free for professions like nursing & teaching. Also higher pay for adjuncts.

Philip Levine: Invest in public schools; stop funds to private/charters

Ron DeSantis: Expand both charters & vouchers

Ron DeSantis (R): No statements found on funding, but prefers setting policy at local level.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Proposes a $1 billion "Fair Share" investment in public schools covered by increasing state's corporate tax rate & legalizing & taxing marijuana.

Q: Education: Support the expansion of charter schools or help parents send their children to private schools with public money?

Ron DeSantis (R): Yes. Expand both charters & vouchers. Let federal dollars follow students to any schools their families choose.

Andrew Gillum (D): No. Against vouchers & "unaccountable, for-profit charter schools who use public dollars to enrich their executives."

Ron DeSantis: Fund training for high schoolers who enter workforce

Ron DeSantis (R): No statements found on state funding, but more training support for students who enter workforce from high school.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Wants to make college debt-free for professions like nursing & teaching. Also higher pay for adjuncts.

Andrew Gillum: $1B on education: set minimum teacher salary at $50,000

But the way Gillum proposes to raise the extra $1 billion--an increase in the corporate income tax from 5.5 percent to 7.75 percent--would likely be nearly impossible to get through the Legislature. On top of the GOP's antipathy to tax hikes, the state constitution requires a three-fifths vote in each chamber to raise the corporate income tax above 5 percent.

[Republican gubernatorial opponent Ron] DeSantis supports the school-choice policies Florida Republicans have passed in their 20 years in power, specifically, expanding charter-school and voucher programs. DeSantis also wants to "stop Common Core"-- the standards adopted by 45 out of 50 states as a way to improve education--but the steps he'd take to unwind them is unclear.

Ron DeSantis: Expand voucher and charters; stop Common Core

DeSantis also wants to "stop Common Core"-- the standards adopted by 45 out of 50 states as a way to improve education--but the steps he'd take to unwind them is unclear. The standards were criticized by conservatives as a top-down approach to education, and lawmakers responded by tweaking and renaming them "Florida standards" in 2014.

[Democratic gubernatorial opponent Andrew] Gillum wants to spend an additional $1 billion on education, part of which would go toward increasing the minimum salary for teachers to $50,000 per year, and for early-education and vocational programs.

Andrew Gillum: End punitive high-stakes testing regime

GILLUM: The high-stakes testing regime, implemented through Florida's failed education reforms, has let down our state's children, parents, and teachers. Our current system demonizes our teachers, instead of supporting their work to mold, shape, and educate humanity. Our education system doesn't prepare children from the earliest stages-- 100% of our state's children should be reading at grade level. Testing and teaching to the test doesn't show us what our kids know, just how well they test. As Governor, I'll ensure a culture of accountability that views assessments as a data point, instead of the single, punitive arbiter of student, teacher, and school success.

Andrew Gillum: Debt-free college in exchange for 4 years' work in Florida

GILLUM: While we're all proud to see many of Florida's universities rising in national rankings, some disparities exist in how we allocate resources among our institutions of higher learning. The current funding system unfairly punishes several universities, including our state's only institution dedicated to educating people of color. All state universities should have improvements measured against their own performance, not by a one-size-fits-all formula that harms those universities' students and teachers. I also believe that anyone willing to commit four years of employment in our state should be able to achieve a debt-free college education.

Philip Levine: Replace high-stakes testing with more comprehensive scoring

I would not abolish the school grading system--It is fair to develop robust measures of school performance. As Governor but I could create a more comprehensive scoring system that takes more factors into account than standardized test scores.

Andrew Gillum: Opposes vouchers for school choice

A: Oppose

Adam Putnam: More emphasis on technical training, not college

Adam Putnam: Parental control of education, not state or federal

Adam Putnam: Urges veto of school choice bill

"I have concerns about the way that that bill, along with much of the budget, was fashioned completely in the dark and behind closed doors to the point that not only the public but many of the members who were asked to vote on it were unaware of all the different things that were taped together at the last second and then shoved into the pipeline," Putnam said.