A simply horrible idea for Florida's universities

[UPDATE: Naturally, the first Senate committee passed it this afternoon, after belitting the state university chancellor for a while. The yahoos rule.]

It is early in the session of our Legislature to be yelling, "red alert!" But it's necessary. The president of our Senate, Ken Pruitt, is determined to wreck Florida's entire university system -- yet again -- for his personal purposes. Amazingly enough, the full Senate might be willing to go along, starting today. Cue the dueling banjos and the bib overalls! Cue the schools of chiropractic and skull-reading! Hire more state senators for university payrolls! Good grief!

The measure in question is Senate Joint Resolution 2308, which would YET AGAIN abolish our state university system, reversing the decision of the voters in 2002, and creating a system under the control of the Legislature itself. SJR 2308 is a proposed amendment to our state Constitution, which still requires voter approval -- but the idea ought not to get that far.

Instead of the independent Board of Governors created by the voters, our state universities would be under a five-member board, with its members confirmed by the state Senate, which would have to run the universities as the Legislature directed. The 2002 amendment clearly gave the Governors the policy control over higher education -- and this takes it away.

This is just an awful power grab by the Legislature. On top of that, the same constitutional amendment includes an entirely separate question, whether Florida should return to having an elected education commissioner. Again, this is an abuse by the Legislature, cramming two different measures into the same amendment, forcing the voters to take one offensive idea if they want to vote for the other.

SJR 2308 is on the calendar for today's meeting of the Senate's Education K-12 Committee. Here's the link to the committee's web page and its list of members, none of whom is from the Tampa Bay area. In the Senate, the measure has one other committee, and then in theory could be passed out of the Senate in short order!

At the very least, the voters are entitled to consider the question of an elected education commissioner and the State University System as separate matters. But beyond that, putting the universities back under the Legislature's thumb is a huge step backwards for Florida.

This is an ego-driven fight about control of university tuition. The official story is that the Legislature just wants to "clear up" who controls tuition in this state. I think the voters settled that question in 2002 by creating the Board of Governors. But SJR 2308 doesn't just "clear up" that question -- it destroys the Governors' independence altogether.

I cannot imagine any state senator who cares about the future of Florida -- or his or her future political career -- voting to put this on the ballot. What kind of political platform will THAT be? "I killed our state university system, and put it back under a bunch of hack politicians, so vote for me?"

Comments

Troxler - As always, you have hit the nail on the head.

Very Precise. Thank you for your great writings.

Keep the BOG! Keep Legislature out of higher education. If you don't - you WILL be sorry!

[Jim Johnson]

Naaah. The legislature is accountable to the voters. We dont need elites creating more berths for poetry profressors and inflicting Florida with legions of other navel gazers in the ivy covered halls of academia.

I suspect Howard is Martin Dyckman's love child. Martin always hated anything that was elected, too.

what is it with republicans?

is it in the genes?

why do they hate education -- especially higher education -- unless they can find a way to feed at the trough?

absolutely stupid, even stupider than the post above.

Why put control of a public education system into the hands of GOP politicians who's party platform wants to privatize everything? This is just a continuation of Bush-era policies by politicians who know the tide has turned against them, and have lost sight of the purpose of their jobs - which is to legislate the will of the voters.

[Howard Troxler]

Well, he woulda been pretty young, but the ages could still work...

Re: poetry professors: As opposed to more schools of chiropractic, skull-reading and more state senators on university payrolls...

[ENough]

Howard:
GOPs seem have a hatred for any educational program that includes the arts, which might lead to free thinking citizens opposing abuse of power by fat cat politicians and their big money backers. The Bushes own FCAT, why not own colleges too? I'm far too synical to believe that Ken Pruitt and his supporters are in it for anything but the money. What's the red herring? Taxpaying dupes will be convinced that it will save them money.(hate to waste it on educating folks when ya can buy beer and go dirt-bikin') Then, too, colleges can be required to put "intelligent design" in the science corriculum.

Well, our colleges can't really fall much farther down can they? What is wrong with the people in this state? Is their too much sun and heat? Clearly it has a huge impact on thinking.

"Re: poetry professors: As opposed to more schools of chiropractic, skull-reading and more state senators on university payrolls..."

Bingo; well done Howard!

Besides, if Chuck and the Legislature would honor just one of the promises they made to get elected… like… say, INSURANCE DROPPING LIKE A ROCK! … then we would all have more money for college.

[Dave W]

I'm really happy I'm graduating this May. Now I just have to figure out how to leave this trap-door called "Florida."

[Bill]

I agree, good article. Look at the chair of the committee; bird hunting NRA member some degree in business. Let's make all colleges business schools. Then 90% of our kids can fail just like businesses do.

[Jim Johnson]

Oh! The crux of the problem may be the perfessers who use their classrooms as bully-pulpits for their political views. I graduated from Florida schools and know they do it.

Whatever their bent is, they tote it to class. Be it evangelicals or buddhists or whatever. So let em get a wagon, fill it with snake oil and Peruna, and peddle their textbooks to the rubes.

"... and peddle their textbooks to the rubes."

Leave Marco out of this!

[Larry]

Howard, the circus is back in town and the clowns are performing in the center ring. Governor Coppertone, the Ringmaster, is leading the show and it is obvious that they not interested in what is on the minds of most Floridians, which is a fix for taxes and insurance. The are the most ineffective bunch of dolts in existence. When all Floridians have lost their homes to foreclosure and/or cannot afford the taxes and insurance, we won't even need a university system.