For years, Florida has had a policy of encouraging as many high school students as possible to take academically rigorous Advanced Placement courses.It's a laudable policy because students enrolled in AP and International Baccalaureate courses are better prepared for college-level work and, thus, more likely to earn college degrees.
Fast forward to this year and it's clear that the Florida Legislature has higher priorities than encouraging academic excellence through properly funding its state universities.
How else can one explain the legislature's willingness to severely cut state universities rather than raise the necessary funding to support it?
While neither chamber has done enough to find new revenue, the Florida Senate has taken some small steps in the right direction by voting to raise cigarette taxes and plugging up a real estate transfer tax loophole.
Still, both budget proposals rely heavily on short-sighted financial measures that will not fix the state’s long-term money problems: massive spending cuts, trust fund sweeps, fee increases for government services, tuition hikes, gambling expansion, and use of federal stimulus dollars.
Most lawmakers would rather short-change state universities than overhaul tax exemptions that benefit the state's wealthiest indviduals and corporations.
But from the two choices, the Senate budget would inflict much less pain on FAMU.
Under the Senate plan, the State University System would face a 6.7 percent cut in general revenue. FAMU would loss $6.9 million. The House version of the budget would slash 22 percent from public universities, which would mean a $22.7 million cut at FAMU.
It is a shame lawmakers aren't willing to invest in academic excellence in order to build the kind of university system Florida needs to dig its way out of this economic crisis. Reducing funding for state universities is but a symptom of a much larger malady at the Capitol.
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6 comments:
Please call or email the following members of the Florida House of Representatives as soon as possible and tell them to support education:
v Speaker Larry Cretul (R-Ocala)
850-488-1450
Email: larry.cretul@myfloridahouse.gov
v Rep. Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park)
Chair, House Select Policy Council on Strategic & Economic Planning
(Speaker designate 2011-12)
850-488-2742
Email: dean.cannon@myfloridahouse.gov
v Rep. David Rivera (R- Miami)
Chair, Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development
Chair, Joint Legislative Budget Commission
850-488-7897
Email: david.rivera@myfloridahouse.gov
v Rep. Bill Proctor (R-St. Augustine)
Chair, House State Universities & Private Colleges Appropriations Committee
850-488-2977
Email: bill.proctor@myfloridahouse.gov
v Rep. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton)
Chair, Rules & Calendar Council
Chair, Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review
850-488-4086
Email: bill.galvano@myfloridahouse.gov
RN,
Any news on Walter L. Smith's prestigious award from the NEA. Info is on famu.edu
To hell with Walter Smith ! He's a has been who doesn't know when his 15 minutes are up !!!
Those clowns downtown are trying to cut our budget again!!!!
What yall gonna do?
Why isn't Pres. Ammonns holding townhall meetings demanding students and alumni to call our legislature, where are the student leaders and greek organizations demanding student involvement, where is the FAMU Alumni Association, come on FAMU its time to mobilize the troops as ONE voice: Save FAMU!!!
The time IS now.
Take it to the HOUSE (Florida that is)!!! Come on students, staff, lets rally. Join forces with FSU & TCC and march to the Capitol Building and crash the legislative session if you have to. It's time to smoke out people like Ray Sansome, take our money back, and invest it in our universities.
Lets Roll!!!!
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