Florida teachers affected by Hurricane Ian to get $2M in disaster aid, governor says

Teachers in six counties hit hard by Hurricane Ian are slated to receive $2 million from the Florida Disaster Fund, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. 

The fund, which is administered by Volunteer Florida, was activated after Ian made landfall Sept. 28 as a Category 4 storm in Southwest Florida. 

Educators in Lee, DeSoto, Hardee, Charlotte, Sarasota and Collier counties will receive money from the fund through local education foundations, DeSantis said. 

The fund will provide $500,000 in Lee County, while Charlotte, Sarasota and Collier foundations will each receive $350,000 to distribute, according to the governor. Foundations in DeSoto and Hardee will each get $225,000. 

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State officials announced Monday that the fund had grown to $45 million, with DeSantis saying Friday that he expected the fund to "very soon" surpass $50 million. 

As of Friday, $7 million from the fund had been awarded, DeSantis said.