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Fla. Senate Set To Cut Education Funding By 6.6 Percent

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - The Florida Senate is set to cut pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade by 6.57 percent, or roughly a drop of $447.25 in per-student from the current school's budget.

It's a dramatic increase from the initial 2.28 percent cut Senate budget writers began working with at the beginning of the session.

Senate education budget chairman David Simmons said the difference comes from $739 million in required contributions by the state towards teachers, school administrators, and employees pensions.

The revised Senate numbers are now more closely aligned with the numbers coming out of the Florida House of Representatives. The House is considering a per-student cut of 7.7 percent, or roughly $524.50 per student, according to the News Service of Florida.

Neither the House nor Senate cuts are as severe as the 10 percent cut proposed by Governor Rick Scott.

The Senate is expected to pass a pre-K through 12 education budget on Thursday.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service Of Florida contributed to this report.)

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