Democratic nominee for governor Andrew Gillum is defending his plan to fund education.
He wants to raise a billion dollars for public schools by increasing state taxes on large corporations -- providing a minimum $50,000 starting salary for teachers by increasing the state corporate-income tax by $1 billion.
Gillum says the companies can afford the local tax increase, since they receive federal tax cuts.
He also says no Floridians will pay higher taxes under his plan, but a spokesperson for the state Republican Party says that is an "absolute lie."
“I will not allow them to get away with miss-describing what it is that we are proposing. We are simply saying that we’ve got to invest in our next generation,” Gillum said. “I want this state to be measured by the investment we make in kids, not into as many tax breaks as we can manage, but in our children. And I believe these are reasoned approaches.”
Gillum called it “an embarrassing indictment” of the state that Florida teacher pay ranks 45th among the states and that salaries are $12,000 below the national average.