Scott vetoes $1.5M for FAMU’s Crestview Ed Center

Gov. Rick Scott’s latest attack on FAMU comes courtesy of his veto pen. Scott tossed out $1.5M that the Florida Legislature appropriated to fund recurring operational expenses at the Crestview Education Center.

FAMU planned to begin classes at the center in Fall 2012. The funding veto could force the university to delay the start date.

Scott line item vetoed a total of $142.7M from the 2012-2013 budget. That money will now enter the state’s reserves. He said he slashed the appropriations in the interest of creating jobs and curbing wasteful spending.

The line item veto of the Crestview funding will hurt the state’s ability to receive a return on the $11M in taxpayer dollars it has already spent to renovate the city’s Alatex Building, which is designated to house the satellite campus. Now, the multi-million dollar facility will sit unused until FAMU receives the cash to pay salaries, utility bills, and equipment costs.


FAMU received legislative authorization to offer the following services at its Crestview site: "instructional programs leading to the PharmD; B.S. or M.S. nursing; master of public health and doctorate of public health; and health care management, health administration, occupational therapy, and physical therapy."

Last year, Scott vetoed $2,014,769 for electrical and technology upgrades on FAMU’s campus and $500,000 for FAMU’s Public Health Entomology Research and Education Lab in Panama City.

The Florida Legislature still has the option to override Scott’s vetoes. But lawmakers declined to take any action last year after the governor line item vetoed $615M.