When Is an FTE Increase Not an FTE Increase?

The 2018 Florida Budget was released today and there is a $101 increase in the per pupil spending (or “total unweighted FTE”). This is being heralded as record education spending. The increase is 1.39% more than last year’s budget.

Is this really record spending?

I looked up the current rate of inflation in the United States. It turns out that the rate of inflation for 2017 was 2.1%.

If the average rate of inflation in 2017 was 2.1% and this year’s rate of education spending increase is 1.39%, then PER PUPIL SPENDING IN FLORIDA IS NOT KEEPING UP WITH INFLATION.

This isn’t really anything new or surprising. Per pupil spending in Florida has not kept pace with inflation in more than 18 years. This, my friends, is one of the ways that public education is being systematically defunded in Florida.

No one should be celebrating this “record level of spending.” It is accountabaloney.

Addendum:

Here is the FEFP document.

“Base student allocation is up 47 cents, or 0.01 percent, leaving district officials concerned that any new funding will be restricted in use.” More here.