Florida lawmakers only included about $1.8 million for the second year of funding for a new Baker County Middle School in the proposed 2026-27 state budget, part of a broader package of education and capital projects approved in the conference report for HB 5001E.
The project was given $250,000 initially to begin planning and engineering but the full remodel with demolition expected is projected at more than $100 million.
The Baker County project received $1,818,742 through the state’s Special Facility Construction Account, a program aimed at helping fiscally constrained school districts build or replace schools. The appropriation lists the project as “Baker County - Baker Middle School (Year 2).”
The funding was included alongside similar school construction projects in DeSoto, Gadsden, Hardee, Hendry, Lafayette, Union and Wakulla counties. The Legislature allocated more than $145 million overall to the Special Facility Construction Account.
The proposed state budget also included other allocations affecting Baker County and Northeast Florida education programs.
Among them was funding through the Division of Early Learning for the regional coalition serving St. Johns, Putnam, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Bradford counties. The coalition was slated to receive about $23.7 million for school readiness services and about $17.5 million for voluntary prekindergarten programs.
The budget additionally included $3 million for the North East Florida Educational Consortium, which provides services to rural school districts in the region, including Baker County.
The conference report represents the Legislature’s negotiated budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. The spending package still requires final passage and approval by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The proposed 2026-27 Florida budget includes targeted pay incentives, operational funding and construction spending that could affect employees and facilities tied to Baker County and the surrounding region, including Northeast Florida State Hospital, Baker Correctional Institution and the Baker County Health Department.
At Northeast Florida State Hospital, lawmakers authorized the Department of Children and Families to continue a temporary special duties pay additive equal to 5 percent of base pay for Human Services Worker I and II employees and Unit Treatment and Rehabilitation Specialists assigned to specified living areas at the hospital. The budget language specifically applies to workers assigned to the 13-1E, 13-1W, 32N and 32S living areas.
The same section also continues hazardous duty and incentive pay provisions for correctional staff statewide. The Department of Corrections may continue hazardous duty pay for Rapid Response Teams and Correctional Emergency Response Teams, while certified correctional officers working mental health unit posts may receive temporary pay additives of up to 10 percent of base salary. The corrections budget also continues one-time $1,000 hiring bonuses for newly hired correctional officers and instructors at eligible institutions with high vacancy rates, along with $5,000 hiring and retention bonuses at 15 targeted high-vacancy prisons.
Although Baker Correctional Institution was not specifically named in the appropriations document, the Department of Corrections received more than $321.5 million statewide for correctional facilities maintenance and repair projects. The budget also includes continuing construction funding for new housing dormitories at Lancaster Correctional Institution and other statewide prison infrastructure work.
The budget further directs the Department of Corrections to manage staffing vacancies and authorizes continued implementation of recruitment and retention programs across state institutions. For the Florida Department of Health, the budget provides statewide funding of about $4.17 billion, including support for county health departments. Separately, the budget authorizes several state facility maintenance and operations projects through the Department of Management Services, including statewide capital depreciation, repairs and maintenance work totaling more than $36 million. Those projects include major HVAC, boiler, elevator and energy plant upgrades at state-owned facilities. The budget still requires final legislative approval and action by Gov. Ron DeSantis before taking effect July 1.