FORT MYERS, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday that $2 million from the Florida Disaster Fund will be used to help teachers impacted by Hurricane Ian.
From San Carlos Park Elementary School in Fort Myers, DeSantis said, "I'm excited to announce that the Florida Disaster Fund will be awarding $2 million to help these teachers get back on their feet, and the funding is going to be awarded through local education foundations, which are charitable groups in the six hardest-hit counties."
The amounts to those six counties, according to DeSantis, will be broken down as follows:
- Lee County: $500,000
- Charlotte, Sarasota, and Collier counties: $350,000
- DeSoto and Hardee counties: $225,000
"These donations will help each district's teachers, particularly those who were displaced, and their different needs right now," DeSantis said. "Needs of home repair, needs of temporary shelter, [and] needs of reliable transportation. You had areas that flooded that didn't use to flood, and a lot of people lost vehicles. So there is a whole host of things that need to be done, so this will provide some help in that regard. And we look forward to being able to do more for our educators in the days and weeks to come."
As of DeSantis' announcement, the Florida Disaster Fund has raised more than $50 million.
Watch the full press conference below: