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Guest commentary: Legislation would put university system in political arena
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Chair, Florida Board of Governors:
The Florida House is taking up a bill that has great consequences for higher education in this state. I encourage readers of the Daily News to contact their representatives in the House as soon as possible and encourage them to vote “no.”
The measure would abolish the Board of Governors — the same board that a large majority of voters created, in 2002, through a landslide vote.
I believe an independent Board of Governors is needed to provide stable statewide governance of the 11 institutions of the State University System of Florida. Without an independent Board of Governors, decisions will be made on a purely political basis. This is the kind of political food fight the citizens of Florida were trying to prevent when they amended the Florida Constitution just a few years ago.
The legislation — House Joint Resolution 7025 — ignores the will of the voters. Companion Senate legislation, SJR 2308, would replace the constitutional board that now exists and replace it with a new board that is subservient to the Legislature. That is not the framework for wise use of limited state dollars.
That is why the Florida Council of 100, a business leadership group, took a strong stand against this bill:
“We sincerely believe that higher education in Florida could suffer. And if higher education in Florida suffers, then our entire economy is at risk. The state is focused on increasing the number and quality of businesses that create high-skill and high-wage jobs in target industries in order to ensure our continued economic growth and global competitiveness. Such businesses will not locate here, nor will we be able to grow them here, without a talent pool of highly educated and skilled people to make them successful.”
The Council of 100 also points out that Florida’s State University System went through one upheaval in 1999, when the Legislature abolished the governing board and created a new system. Voters rejected that system in their 2002 vote. Now the Legislature wants to abolish the Board of Governors. “So much reorganization, with the prospect for more, is a source of great Instability for our state,” wrote the Council of 100. “Another administrative upheaval is not the answer to whatever issues the Legislature may have with the Board of Governors. Let’s … not make higher education a political football.”
The Council of 100 is not alone. The Florida Chamber, the state’s leading business organization, issued its own statement Friday announcing the establishment of a Commission to Secure World-Class Schools. This is an important development in the fight for high-quality education in our state.
In making its announcement, however, the Florida Chamber warned that “the formation of this commission comes at a time when the Legislature is considering another change to our education governance system. We urge patience and encourage Florida’s leaders to avoid additional politicization, complexity or separateness to the governance of our K-20 system.”
The message is clear: Florida’s State University System is vital to the economic health of our state. Strong universities are essential to Florida’s being able to compete in the 21st-century economy. To win, we need citizens with the best educations possible.
That future is threatened if we allow our university system to become a political football.
Let your legislators know. Give this message to your representatives in the Florida House — today.
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