Hours before the close of the session, Crist told WOKV's Tallahassee News Bureau that we'll be able to pay our teachers more as a result of the teacher pay program that has already passed.

But Mark Pudlow with the Florida Teachers Union disputes Crist's claim, saying the education budget is being drastically cut.

Pudlow suggests alternatives to keep funding harmless.

"We have rainy day funds that we can use, there are taxes on the books that aren't being collected, like taxes on internet sales".

The Governor is being asked to approve the smallest budget in three years, at $66 billion.

The economy forced lawmakers to cut programs for the needy, young and old and shrink
school budgets.

It will leave legislators to return to their districts with little to brag about. 

Lawmakers are still trying to work out a broad plan to reduce the number of uninsured and to help families of children with disabilities.

Also still on the plate is a massive deal for a commuter rail system in central Florida that has become extremely controversial.