School children in classroom at lesson

More than $2.8 million for the Florida School Recognition Award will be dispersed among 18 schools in the School District of Lee County for such things as bonuses for faculty and staff, educational equipment, or materials and temporary personnel for schools.

To be eligible for the Florida School Recognition Award, a school must receive a school grade of an A, or improve one letter grade from the previous school year. The Commissioner of Education awards funds for the Florida School Recognition Program in the amount up to $100 per full-time equivalent student for each of the qualifying schools.

“I was glad to award more than $200 million to 1,400 schools that demonstrated student growth and teaching excellence over the past year,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a prepared statement. “These awards can be used to give our hard working teachers bonuses, and are particularly important in Southwest Florida where they will go a long way toward helping teachers in the area get back on their feet.”

The 18 schools include:

Cape Elementary: $131,325

Skyline Elementary: $179,703